why do we call japan japan instead of nihon
The English word for Japan came to the West from early trade routes. The early Mandarin Chinese or possibly Wu Chinese word for Japan was recorded by Marco Polo as Cipangu. In modern Shanghainese (a language of the Wu Chinese subgroup), the formal pronunciation of the characters 日本 (Japan) is still Zeppen (zəʔpən). The colloquial pronunciation of the character 日 is (ɲəʔ), which is closer to Nippon. The Malay and Indonesian words Jepang, Jipang, and Jepun were borrowed from non-Mandarin Chinese languages, and this Malay word was encountered by Portuguese traders in Malacca in the 16th century. It is thought the Portuguese traders were the first to bring the word to Europe. It was first recorded in English in 1577 spelled Giapan.