What is the Japanese word for Toyota?
In Japanese, Toyota is written as トヨタ, and the company’s full legal name is トヨタ自動車株式会社 (Toyota Jidōsha Kabushiki-gaisha). The founder’s family name behind the company is Toyoda (豊田), from which the brand name Toyota is derived.
Japanese representations of the name
The Toyota name appears in several forms in Japanese, depending on context. Here are the main representations used in branding, history, and corporate documents.
- トヨタ (Toyota) – the brand name in katakana, used on products, advertising, and consumer-facing communications.
- 豊田 (Toyoda) – the family name of the company's founder, used in historical contexts or discussions about the founders.
- トヨタ自動車株式会社 (Toyota Jidōsha Kabushiki-gaisha) – the formal legal corporate name in Japanese; in English-language materials this is typically translated as Toyota Motor Corporation.
In everyday usage, トヨタ is the standard branding form, 豊田 appears in biographical or historical references, and the full corporate name is used in official documents and legal contexts.
Origin of the branding name
In the 1930s, the company adopted the brand name Toyota for its automotive business, aiming for a name that would be easy to pronounce across languages and friendly for branding. The name is derived from the founder's family name but stylized for broader appeal. The official Japanese corporate name remains トヨタ自動車株式会社, with English references often using Toyota Motor Corporation.
Summary
Key takeaways: The Japanese word for Toyota can be written as トヨタ for the brand, 豊田 to reference the founder's family name, and トヨタ自動車株式会社 as the legal corporate name. The brand Toyota originated from the Toyoda family name but was adapted for broader international branding.
What is Toyota called in Japan?
Toyota is called トヨタ自動車株式会社 (Toyota Jidōsha Kabushikigaisha) in Japan, which translates to "Toyota Motor Corporation". The company is also known simply as Toyota (トヨタ) and was originally named after the founder's family name, Toyoda (豊田).
- Full Name: トヨタ自動車株式会社 (Toyota Jidōsha Kabushikigaisha).
- Common Name: トヨタ (Toyota).
- Original Name: The company was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda, and the original family name was spelled Toyoda.
- Change to Toyota: The name was changed to "Toyota" for several reasons, including that it took eight strokes to write in Japanese, which is considered a lucky number, and to help distance the company from its agricultural origins, as the family name "Toyoda" means "fertile rice paddy".
Why does Toyota have AT instead of AD?
The main reason for spelling it with a “T” instead of a “D” is because the word Toyoda in Japanese uses 10 strokes of the pen to write, whereas Toyota only uses eight. Eight is considered to be a lucky number in Japanese culture, so the name Toyota was chosen.
What does Honda mean in Japanese?
In Japanese, the surname Honda (本田) literally means "original rice paddy" or "main rice field". It is a common Japanese surname and was chosen for the company by founder Soichiro Honda.
- Literal meaning: The kanji characters for the surname are 本 (hon), meaning "original" or "main," and 田 (da), meaning "rice field".
- Origin of the name: Many Japanese surnames are based on geographical features of the land, and Honda is one of them.
- Company connection: Soichiro Honda named his company after his surname, which is a common practice and was effective because the name was both familiar and trustworthy in Japan.
What is Nissan in Japanese?
In Japanese, Nissan is written as 日産, pronounced Niss-san. The name is an abbreviation of Nihon Sangyo (日本産業), which translates to "Japan Industries". Therefore, the name can also be understood to mean "Japanese-made," combining the kanji for "sun" or "Japan" (日) and "production" (産).
- 日 (Ni): Means "sun" and is the first character in Nihon (日本), the word for Japan.
- 産 (San): Means "production" or "product".
- The full company name: The full name, 日産自動車株式会社 (Nissan Jidōsha Kabushiki-gaisha), translates to "Nissan Motor Corporation".
- The company's origin: The name originated as a stock market ticker for the Nihon Sangyo holding company, which was shortened to "Ni-San".
