ピョンヤン

also: へいじょう

ピョ

ン

ヤ

ン

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun

Pyongyang; capital of North Korea

usually written using kana alone

Proper noun for the capital city of North Korea. The usual modern Japanese form is ピョンヤン, with 平壌 also common in writing.

ピョンヤンは北きた朝ちょう鮮せんの首しゅ都とです。
Pyongyang is the capital of North Korea.
平壌ぴょんやんで会かい談だんが開ひらかれる予よ定ていです。
Talks are scheduled to be held in Pyongyang.

See all 7 example sentences ›

Kanji

平even, flat, peace
壌lot, earth, soil

Don't confuse with

北きた朝ちょう鮮せん
北朝鮮 is the country North Korea, while ピョンヤン (平壌) is its capital city, not the country itself.
ソウル
ソウル is the capital of South Korea, easily confused with ピョンヤン, the capital of North Korea.

Written forms

ピョンヤンUsage16%
Katakana is the high-priority reading and usually written in kana.
平壌Usage84%
- ぴょんやん
  Common kanji spelling in news and formal writing; in modern Japanese it is normally read ピョンヤン for this city name.
- へいじょう
  Less common Sino-Japanese reading of the same kanji place name; ピョンヤン is the normal modern reading.
へいじょう

Etymology

A place name. ピョンヤン is the usual Japanese katakana form for Pyongyang, and 平壌 is the conventional kanji spelling; no detailed historical etymology is specified.