Nihongo

Nihongo, or Japanese, is the language spoken primarily in Japan. It belongs to the Japonic language family and is used by about 125 million native speakers. The term Nihongo is formed from Nippon/Nihon meaning “origin of the sun” and go meaning language. It is the lingua franca of education, media, and government in Japan, and is also spoken by Japanese communities abroad.

The writing system combines kanji, which are logographic characters borrowed from Chinese, with two syllabaries, hiragana and katakana. Kanji convey semantics, while kana indicate pronunciation and grammar. Romaji is used in some contexts to render Japanese in the Latin alphabet. Japanese writing typically mixes kanji with kana in sentences.

The phonology features a relatively small phoneme inventory and a simple syllable structure, usually CV with an mora-based rhythm. Many dialects use pitch accent to distinguish words; regional varieties differ in pronunciation, vocabulary, and grammar. Standard Japanese derives mainly from the Tokyo dialect and is the core taught in schools. The language also uses an extensive system of honorifics (keigo) and politeness levels that affect verb forms and vocabulary.

Grammar is largely agglutinative and SOV (subject–object–verb). Verbs and adjectives conjugate for tense, aspect, mood, politeness, and voice. Particles mark grammatical relations.

Historically, Japanese writing was influenced by Chinese from early centuries, with modern standardization emerging in the Meiji period and beyond. Internationally, Nihongo is taught as a foreign language and studied through various curricula, with regional adaptations and thriving media influence.