Japanese

新興国 (shinkō koku): emerging countries around the world.

新興国 (shinkō koku): newly industrialized countries.

Noun

新興国 ‎(hiragana しんこうこく, romaji shinkō koku)

1. emerging country, newly industrialized country
2. (dated) a newly independent country, no longer a colony

Usage notes

A country labeled as a 新興国 in Japanese could be deemed in English to be either an emerging country or a newly industrialized country, or even both, depending on the context.

The sense of no longer a colony is no longer used in modern contexts.

Related terms

• 先進国 (せんしんこく, ​senshin koku) developed country
• 発展途上国 (はってんとじょうこく, ​hatten tojō koku) developing country
• 開発途上国 (かいはつとじょうこく, ​kaihatsu tojō koku) developing country (less common synonym of 発展途上国)
• 低開発国 (ていかいはつこく, ​tei kaihatsu koku) developing country (literally, “low-development country”)
• 後進国 (こうしんこく, ​kōshin koku) developing country (less common; literally, “backward country”)

References

1. ↑ 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. ↑ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9