Japanese word

本土

Pronunciation

Romajihondo

Meaning

  • nounmainland Japan

Example

本土から島へ荷物を送ります。hon do ka ra shima e ni motsu o oku ri ma su

I send a package from the mainland to the island.

Illustration for 本土 (mainland Japan)

More examples

台風で本土の空港が閉鎖されました。tai fū de hon do no kū kō ga hei sa sa re ma shi ta

The mainland airport was closed because of the typhoon.

Core concept

Points to the primary land area of a country when it is set against islands or territories beyond it.

Common phrases

  • 本土からhon do ka ra

    from the mainland

  • 本土に戻るhon do ni modo ru

    return to the mainland

  • 本土の空港hon do no kū kō

    mainland airport

Similar words

内地naichi: The mainland of Japan as understood from an island or other outlying area.

Definition in Japanese

島や海外領土などと区別した、国の主要部分をなす陸地。shima ya kai gai ryō do na do to ku betsu shi ta kuni no shu yō bu bun o na su riku chi

Word origin

本土 (hondo, "mainland") is a Sino-Japanese compound of 本 (hon, "main or base") and 土 (do, "land or soil"), meaning the land regarded as the country's base.

Usage tips

  • When 本土 (hondo) is contrasted with an island, it refers to the mainland side of the route, as in transport and shipping descriptions.

Other meanings

  • the country propernoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 本土化hondokamainlandizationnoun

Word lists with this word