# (Japan) יפן



## Isidore Demsky

How long has יפן been the Hebrew name of Japan?

Does this designation go all the way back to Eliezar Ben Yehuda, or is it relatively recent?


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## origumi

Nearly Since the time Japan entered European languages, I guess, centuries before Ben Yehuda.
See for example שבילי עולם by שמשון בלוך in 1822, or ראשית לימודים by ברוך לינדא in 1788.


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## Isidore Demsky

origumi said:


> Nearly Since the time Japan entered European languages, I guess, centuries before Ben Yehuda.
> See for example שבילי עולם by שמשון בלוך in 1822, or ראשית לימודים by ברוך לינדא in 1788.



Thank you.

How do you say China (the country, not the pottery), and how is it spelled?


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## origumi

סין Sin (sounds like Seen).


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## Drink

origumi said:


> Nearly Since the time Japan entered European languages, I guess, centuries before Ben Yehuda.
> See for example שבילי עולם by שמשון בלוך in 1822, or ראשית לימודים by ברוך לינדא in 1788.



Note that in שבילי עולם (based on your link), it was spelled יאפאן (but pronounced the same, I guess). I haven't been able to find the word in ראשית לימודים in order to determine the spelling.


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## origumi

It's יאפאן in the other book as well (you can find it by digging in the site of the link to שבילי עולם).
There was a little war about the preferred spelling, the shorter one won in Modern Hebrew.

I assumed that the TO asked about the name in general, not the specific spelling.


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## Drink

origumi said:


> I think that the TO asked about the name in general, not the specific spelling.



Yes, but I thought it would be useful to point that out to him anyway.


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## amikama

The Historical Dictionary (the site linked by origumi above) also suggests יאפאניה, יפוניה, יפניה, יאפן, יפוניה and even שאפאן.
The earliest appearance of יפן (in this corpus) is from 1911, but it seems that יאפאן was the dominant spelling until mid-20th century.


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## origumi

I suspect all of them are imitations of European varieties. This makes sense in the days of no formal up-to-date Hebrew and no Hebrew public opinion.


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## Isidore Demsky

origumi said:


> סין Sin (sounds like Seen).


I can't always read Hebrew script on my computer.

Is that samekh, yod, nun?


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## Isidore Demsky

origumi said:


> It's יאפאן in the other book as well (you can find it by digging in the site of the link to שבילי עולם).
> There was a little war about the preferred spelling, the shorter one won in Modern Hebrew.
> 
> I assumed that the TO asked about the name in general, not the specific spelling.


When was the war over, and how long has the shorter spelling been preferred?

From the article you linked to it looks like the shorter 3 letter spelling was settled on in the 1960's--is that correct?


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## Isidore Demsky

amikama said:


> The Historical Dictionary (the site linked by origumi above) also suggests יאפאניה, יפוניה, יפניה, יאפן, יפוניה and even שאפאן.
> The earliest appearance of יפן (in this corpus) is from 1911, but it seems that יאפאן was the dominant spelling until mid-20th century.


Thank you.


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## origumi

Isidore Demsky said:


> Is that samekh, yod, nun?


Yes.


> From the article you linked to it looks like the shorter 3 letter spelling was settled on in the 1960's--is that correct?


It happened during the 1960s, never totally settled. Most people today write יפן but you may find also יאפאן.


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