Nippon

American  

[nee-pawn, ni-pon, nip-on] / niˈpɔn, nɪˈpɒn, ˈnɪp ɒn /

noun

1. a Japanese name of Japan.

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Nippon British  

/ ˈnɪpɒn /

noun

1. transliteration of a Japanese name for Japan

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Etymology

Origin of Nippon

< Japanese, earlier nit-pon < Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese rì sun + běn origin

Example Sentences

Japan’s Nippon TV, despite the fears of the demise of the linear television business as streaming services continue to gain ground.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

Fund managers highlighted Montana Aerospace, Pason Systems, and Japan’s Nippon TV as international value investment opportunities.

From Barron's • Mar. 19, 2026

Hideki Kuriyama managed Ohtani on the Nippon Ham Fighters, the team that nurtured Ohtani’s ambition of pitching and hitting at an elite level.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 6, 2026

Steel when the latter was acquired by Japan’s Nippon Steel.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026

Those people lived on a group of faraway islands that they called Nippon, but we Americans knew it as Japan.

From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac