越えつ南なん

Written forms

• ベトナムUsage99%
  gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun

  Standard modern spelling for Vietnam, written in katakana as a foreign place name.

• 越南Usage1%iUsage for this spelling across all readings, not one reading alone.
  • えつなん

    Ateji spelling using kanji for their phonetic values; rarely used in modern Japanese.

  • ベトナム

    gikun (meaning-based reading) or jukujikun

    Ateji spelling with the gikun reading ベトナム; very rare and mainly historical.

Etymology

From Vietnamese 'Việt Nam', via English or French. The kanji spelling 越南 is ateji, using characters for their sounds rather than meanings.