Many words for Japan in modern languages, such as Japan, Japon, Giappone, and Yaponiya, are generally derived from the word 'Zipangu,' but there are also different theories, including one theory holding that the origin of these words was that people in Southeast Asia called Japan Japang in a borrowed word from Chinese language around the 16th century, when Portuguese reached Southeast Asia.
現代の多くの言語で日本を意味するJapan/Japon/Giappone/Yaponiyaなどの言葉は、一般にジパングが語源とされるが、ポルトガルが到達した16世紀頃の東南アジアで日本のことを中国語からの借用語でJapangと呼んでいたことに由来するという説など、異説もある。