讀後心得

Shibuya is a famous tourist destination in Tokyo, and the correct Japanese kanji is "渋谷", pronounced as "Shibuya." However, because the character "渋" is similar to the Chinese character "涉," it often leads Taiwanese people to mistakenly read it as "涉谷." Other easily misread place names include Niigata (often misread as 新瀉), Tochigi (misidentified as 櫔木 or 櫪木), Hida (read as 飛彈), Dotonbori (misunderstood as 道頓掘), and Gion (often incorrectly recognized as 祗園). These place names can easily cause confusion due to similar shapes or pronunciations, so special attention is required when discussing travel in Japan.

It's Shibuya, not Shebuya! 6 popular tourist destinations in Japan that Taiwanese people often mispronounce. The trend of Taiwanese people traveling to Japan continues to heat up, and travel information from various places can be easily found online, while the kanji in Japanese reduces the difficulty for Taiwanese people when traveling in Japan. However, when discussing travel information about Japan, one might occasionally find the same place name yet different characters or pronunciations, leading to curiosity about which characters and pronunciations are correct. This time we've collected the Japanese kanji place names that Taiwanese people often mispronounce; come and see if you've also accidentally misunderstood!

• 澀谷 VS 涉谷

  One of the most popular areas in Tokyo for tourists, and also a place name that often appears with typos—“Shibuya”! The Japanese kanji is “渋谷”, and “渋” represents astringency in Japanese, so the traditional Chinese characters for “渋谷” are “澀谷”. The official website of its administrative district "渋谷区" also writes it as "澀谷區" in Chinese. Since the character “渋” is very similar to the Chinese "涉", combined with the similar pronunciations of "ㄕㄜˋ" and "ㄙㄜˋ", many Taiwanese people therefore misunderstand and spread the incorrect usage of “涉谷”.

• 新潟 VS 新瀉

  Located in central Honshu, Niigata may not be as well-known as Tokyo, but the “Echigo Yuzawa” in Niigata Prefecture is a famous ski resort that attracts many foreign tourists in winter. The direct flights from Taiwan to Niigata Airport have recently drawn many Taiwanese travelers. The Chinese and Japanese for “新潟” are exactly the same, but the pronunciation of “潟” is “ㄒㄧˋ”. Since this character is rarely used in Chinese, many people misread it as “ㄒㄧㄝˋ”, mistakenly writing “新潟” as “新瀉”.

• 栃木 VS 櫔木／櫪木

  “Tochigi” is a famous strawberry-producing region, and many places beloved by Taiwanese people in the fall, such as “Nikko” and “Lake Chuzenji,” are located here. The names “櫔木” or “櫪木” often appear in travel information, but in fact, “栃” is the name of the Japanese horse chestnut tree, and although “櫔” has a relation to plants similar to “栃”, “櫪” is completely unrelated, making it entirely wrong to write “栃木” as “櫪木”. Now, Tochigi Prefecture’s official publications directly use “栃木”, and the character “栃” can be input using Chinese input methods, so in the future, you can just use “栃木”.

• 飛驒 VS 飛彈

  Gifu Prefecture’s Hida is famous for its black wagyu “Hida Beef”, especially after the 2016 movie “Your Name”. The Japanese kanji is “飛騨”, and the traditional characters can be written as “飛驒”, with the pronunciation being “ㄊㄨㄛˊ”, but since this character is uncommon, many people read it as “彈”, or even input it as “飛彈”, causing quite a bit of misunderstanding.

• 道頓堀 VS 道頓掘

  Dotonbori is an important shopping street for free travelers in Osaka, and almost every tourist heading to Osaka searches for or discusses this place. In Chinese, Dotonbori can directly use the Japanese kanji, but due to the uncommon character “堀”, many mistakenly believe it’s “掘”, thus pronouncing or writing it as “道頓掘”.

• 祇園 VS 祗園

  Gion is renowned for its geishas and dance performances, making it a must-visit place for many Taiwanese travelers in Kyoto. Although the Chinese for “祇園” also adopts the Japanese kanji, the pronunciation of “祇” often confuses Taiwanese people; the correct pronunciation should be “ㄑㄧˊ”, whereas the pronunciation of “祗” is “ㄓ”, often leading to confusion, and many misread it as “祗園”.

Since kanji also exists in Japanese, for Taiwanese people who don’t understand Japanese, using kanji as guides during travel in Japan is helpful. With the development of the internet, acquiring travel information has become easier, but at the same time, many incorrect pieces of information have become widespread. The next time you discuss these famous Japanese travel destinations with friends and family, remember not to misspell or mispronounce again!

You might also be interested in: So this is what it means! Japanese kanji you must know when traveling in Japan.