任天堂

Chinese

 
to assign; to appoint; office; responsibility
heaven; paradise
trad. (任天堂) 天堂
simp. #(任天堂) 天堂

Etymology

From Japanese 任天堂 (Nintendō, literally Luck of Heaven).

Pronunciation


Proper noun

任天堂

  1. Nintendo (a video game company)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
にん
Grade: 5
てん
Grade: 1
どう
Grade: 4
on’yomi

Etymology

Derivation remains uncertain, there is a common assumption that the company name is translated to "leave luck to heaven".

According to some sources, the (nin, literally duty, obligation) is short for 任侠 (ninkyō, chivalry), likely tied to yakuza activities; while (ten, literally heaven) is short for 天狗 (tengu), a kind of monster in Japanese folklore, sometimes connected to gambling. (Can this(+) etymology be sourced?)

Proper noun

任天堂 (hiragana にんてんどう, katakana ニンテンドー, rōmaji Nintendō, historical hiragana にんてんだう)

  1. (video games) Nintendo (a video game company)

Descendants

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