“hokutō” vs. “tōhoku”：Really? Aren’t They The Same Meaning?

2020年9月25日2022年6月6日

0925-2020-hokutou-vs-tohoku-learn-japanese-online-how-to-speak-japanese-language-for-beginners-basic-study-in-japan

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“hokutō” vs. “tōhoku“：Really? Aren’t They The Same Meaning?

What is the difference between “北東ほくとう(hokutō) and 東北とうほく(tōhoku)“? Which is used as the direction? After reading this, you would be answering this question. Let me introduce what their subtle differences are and how you correctly use them such as native speakers today!

北東ほくとう (hokutō)

Northeast / 东北方向 / 북동 / Phía Đông Bắc

“北東ほくとう(hokutō)” means “Northeast” and which has been used as the meaning of “the direction that is between north and east”. The basic way to use it is “___の北東ほくとう(the northeast of ___)”, etc. For instance, “オーストラリアの北東ほくとう(the northeast of Australia)”, “アメリカの北東ほくとう(the northeast of United States of America)”, “ヨーロッパの北東ほくとう(the northeast of Europe), etc. The tips for using it are that “北東ほくとう” is just used as “the DIRECTION”, unlike “東北とうほく“. Everybody could use this both in daily conversations as casual and in business situations as formal, such as “オーストラリアの北東ほくとうに住すんでるよ。(I live in the northeast of Australia.)” as casual and “オーストラリアの北東ほくとうに住すんでます。(I live in the northeast of Australia.)” as polite and “オーストラリアの北東ほくとうに住すんでおります。(I live in the northeast of Australia.)” as formal.

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Sample

yuka

イタリアの北東ほくとうに旅行りょこうに行いったよ。 (I had a vacation in northeastern Italy.) (我去了意大利东北部旅行喔。) (이탈리아 북동부에 여행을 갔어요.) (Tôi đã đi du lịch đến những vùng phía Đông bắc của nước Ý rồi đấy.) (Itaria no hokutō ni ryokō ni itta yo.)

tatsuya

インド北東ほくとうに住すんでるよ。 (I live in northeast India.) (我住在印度东北部喔。) (인도 북동부에 살고 있어요.) (Tôi đang sống ở phía đông bắc Ấn Độ.) (Indo hokutō ni sunderu yo.)

yuka

広島ひろしまの北東ほくとうで地震じしんがあったみたい。 (I heard that there was an earthquake　in the northeast of Hiroshima.) (广岛东北部好像发生了地震。) (히로시마의 북동부에서 지진이 있었다나봐.) (Hình như có động đất ở phía Đông bắc Hiroshima.) (Hiroshima no hokutō de jishin ga atta mitai.)

tatsuya

イギリス北東ほくとうの川かわが観光地かんこうちみたい。 (It seems like a river in the northeastern of United Kingdom is a tourist spot.) (英国东北部的河流好像是一个观光地。) (영국 북동부의 강이 관광지같아.) (Hình như con sông ở phía đông bắc nước Anh là một địa điểm du lịch.) (Igirisu hokutō no kawa ga kankōchi mitai.)

東北とうほく (tōhoku)

The northeastern region of Japan / 东北地区 / 동북 / Vùng Tohoku

“東北とうほく(tōhoku)” means “The northeastern region of Japan” and which has been used as the meaning of “one of the regions in Japan”. The basic way to use it, “私わたしは東北とうほくに住すんでいる。(I live in the Tōhoku region.)”, “私わたしは日本にほんの東北とうほくに出身しゅっしんです。(I’m from the Tōhoku region in Japan.)”, “東北とうほくが私わたしの故郷こきょうです。(The Tōhoku is my hometown.)” etc. The tips for using it are that “北東ほくとう” is just used as “a NAME of the REGION in Japan”, unlike “北東ほくとう“. Everybody could use this both in daily conversations as casual and in business situations as formal, such as “東北とうほくに住すんでるよ。(I live in the Tōhoku region.)” as casual and “東北とうほくに住すんでます。(I live in the Tōhoku region.)” as polite and “東北とうほくに住すんでおります。(I live in the Tōhoku region.)” as formal. Furthermore, although “東北とうほく地方ちほう” is an official name, native speakers tend to call “東北とうほく“.

List of the region and prefecture in Japan

北海地方ほっかいどうちほう(Hokkaidō region)

1. Hokkaidō

東北とうほく地方ちほう(Tōhoku region)

2. Aomori
3. Iwate
4. Miyagi
5. Akita
6. Yamagata
7. Fukushima

関東地方かんとうちほう(Kantō region)

8. Ibaraki
9. Tochigi
10. Gunma
11. Saitama
12. Chiba
13. Tokyo
14. Kanagawa

中部地方ちゅうぶちほう(Chūbu region)

15. Niigata
16. Toyama
17. Ishikawa
18. Fukui
19. Yamanashi
20. Nagano
21. Gifu
22. Shizuoka
23. Aichi

関西地方かんさいちほう(Kansai region)

24. Mie
25. Shiga
26. Kyoto
27. Osaka
28. Hyōgo
29. Nara
30. Wakayama

中国地方ちゅうごくちほう(Chūgoku region)

31. Tottori
32. Shimane
33. Okayama
34. Hiroshima
35. Yamaguchi

四国地方しこくちほう(Shikoku region)

36. Tokushima
37. Kagawa
38. Ehime
39. Kōchi

九州地方きゅうしゅうちほう(Kyūshū region)

40. Fukuoka
41. Saga
42. Nagasaki
43. Kumamoto
44. Ōita
45. Miyazaki
46. Kagoshima
47. Okinawa

Sample

yuka

東北とうほくに行いったことある？ (Have you ever been to the Tōhoku region?) (你去过东北吗？) (토호쿠에 가본 적 있어요?) (Bạn đã đến vùng Tohoku lần nào chưa?) (Tōhoku ni itta koto aru?)

tatsuya

東北地方とうほくちほうに住すんでるよ。 (I live in the Tōhoku region.) (我住在东北地区。) (토호쿠지방에 살고 있어요.) (Tôi đang sống ở vùng Tohoku nè.) (Tōhoku chihō ni sunderu yo.)

yuka

東北とうほくって日本にほんの北東ほくとうにあるよね？ (The Tohoku region is in northeastern Japan, isn’t it?) (东北地区是日本的东北部对吧？) (토호쿠는 일본의 북동쪽에 있지?) (Vùng Tohoku nằm ở phía đông bắc của Nhật Bản nhỉ?) (Tōhoku tte Nihon no hokutō ni aru yone?)

tatsuya

東北とうほくは、まだ津波つなみからの復興途中ふっこうとちゅうなんだ。 (The Tohoku region is still recovering from the tsunami even now.) (东北地区仍在从海啸中恢复的途中。) (토호쿠는 아직 쓰나미 여파가 남아있어.) (Vùng Tohoku vẫn đang trong giai đoạn phục hồi sau trận sóng thần.) (Tōhoku wa, mada tsunami no fukkō tochū na’nda.)

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