# Japanese

> English word · Adjective · IPA /ˌdʒæp.əˈniːz/ · frequency rank #1,639

## Definitions
1. Of, relating to, derived from, or characteristic of Japan, its people, language, or culture.
2. Of, relating to, derived from, or characteristic of Japan, its people, language, or culture.

## Etymology
Etymology tree
Hokkien 日本 /Ji̍t-púnbor.
Malay Jepangbor.
Portuguese Japãobor.
▲
Malay Jepangbor.
Dutch Japanbor.
English Japan
Proto-Indo-European *-iskos
Proto-Germanic *-iskaz
Proto-West Germanic *-iskbor.
Late Latin -iscus
▲
Vulgar Latin -iscus
Latin -ēnsis
Old French -eisbor.
Middle English -eys
English -ese
English Japanese
From Japan + -ese after the model of earlier Portuguese japonês, New Latin japonensis, French japonais, etc.

## Easily confused with
- **Javanese** (https://plainspell.com/en/vs/japanese-vs-javanese)

## Common misspellings (11)
`ajpanese`, `jaapnese`, `japaense`, `japanees`, `japanesse`, `japannese`, `japansee`, `japnaese`, `jappanese`, `jjapanese`, `jpaanese`

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/japanese