noun
Saitama (city, prefecture)
Refers to both Saitama Prefecture and its capital city. The city name is officially written in hiragana (さいたま市), while the prefecture is commonly written in kanji (埼玉県).
埼玉県は東京の北にあります。
Saitama Prefecture is north of Tokyo.
さいたま市に引っ越しました。
I moved to Saitama City.
Standard kanji spelling for the prefecture. The city name is officially written in hiragana, but this kanji form is widely used for the prefecture.
Official hiragana spelling for the city; also commonly used for the prefecture in informal contexts.
The name Saitama is of ancient origin, possibly derived from the old Sakitama region. The kanji 埼 (saki, meaning 'cape' or 'promontory') and 玉 (tama, meaning 'ball' or 'jewel') are used phonetically and do not directly reflect the modern meaning.