Cool Japanese Word – 植民
By thomas on May 9, 2009 in Japanese
I ran across a word in a book the other day. 植民 (しょくみん [shokumin]).
The first character (植) means plant, as in trees, vines and flowers. You find it in the Japanese word for plant, 植物 (しょくぶつ [shokubutsu], plant+things), and also in the word that means “to plant (a tree)”, 植える (うえる [ueru]).
The second character （民) means something like group of people. You find it in words like citizen: 国民 (こくみん [kokumin], country + people).
So 植 (plant) + 民 (group of people) = plant people. What the hell does “plant people” mean? Botonists? Nope.
Colonization!
Shokumin is the Japanese word for colonization. That’s where you take people from your own country and plant them in another land.
How do you say colonization in your language (or the language you are studying)? Leave a comment and let us know!
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I think it’s more of an international word i.e. its Latin version is used in most European languages.
lyzazel | May 9, 2009 | Reply
In Spanish it’s colonización, almost exactly what it is in English. I think @lyzazel is right about what it will be in most European languages.
I like the approach the Japanese took with their “plant people” though.
peter | May 11, 2009 | Reply
lyzazel: I guess you’re right, it’s “kolonizacja” in Polish.
Btw. guys, thanks for a great blog!
rchmielarz | Jul 28, 2009 | Reply