Meanings
alternative Ryūkyū · alternative Riukiu
- A chain of islands in Japan roughly between Kyushu and Taiwan.
White Butterflies in Japan.[...]Shortly after this I left Yokohama for the Ryukyu Islands, and next had my attention attracted by the "White" in the Bay of Kagoshima.
1888 April, H. T. Stainton, “Nepticula Serella, N. SP.”, in Entomologist's Monthly Magazine, →ISSN, →OCLC, page 2611 more example
About 140 people live on Kuchinoerabu island in the Ryukyu archipelago, which is approximately 50 miles (80 kilometers) southwest of the main southern island of Kyushu.
2015 May 29, “Volcano erupts on remote southern Japanese island”, in Deutsche Welle, archived from the original on 23 Oct 2015, JapanSynonyms: the Ryukyus, Liuqiu, Liuchiu
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounA chain of islands in Japan roughly between Kyushu and Taiwan.
Origin
- Japanese琉球
- EnglishRyukyu
From Japanese 琉球 (Ryūkyū), from Middle Chinese 流求 (MC ljuw gjuw), a Chinese exonym for the island kingdom, of unclear origin. Doublet of Liuqiu.
More words from Japanese
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Chinese Mandarin 琉球, 琉球群島 /琉球群岛
- 琉球 (Liúqiú)Japanese island chain
- 琉球群島 /琉球群岛 (Liúqiú qúndǎo)Japanese island chain
- 琉球諸島 /琉球诸岛 (Liúqiú zhūdǎo)Japanese island chain
- 琉球列島 /琉球列岛 (Liúqiú lièdǎo)Japanese island chain
Dutch Riukiu, Riukiu-eilanden
- RiukiuJapanese island chain
- Riukiu-eilandenJapanese island chain
- RyukyuJapanese island chain
- RyūkyūJapanese island chain
- Ryukyu-eilandenJapanese island chain
- RjoekjoeJapanese island chain
- RjoetsjoeJapanese island chain
French Ryūkyū, Ryukyu
- RyūkyūJapanese island chain
- RyukyuJapanese island chain
- Riou-KiouJapanese island chain
- Riou KiouJapanese island chain
- Ryu-KyuJapanese island chain
- Ryu KyuJapanese island chain
- Lou-tchouJapanese island chain
- Liou-tchouJapanese island chain
- Liou-TchouJapanese island chain
- Lieou-KieouJapanese island chain
- Liéou-KiéouJapanese island chain
Japanese 琉球, 琉球諸島
- 琉球 (Ryūkyū)Japanese island chain
- 琉球諸島 (Ryūkyū-shotō)Japanese island chain
- 南西諸島 (Nansei-shotō)Japanese island chain
Korean 류큐 제도
- 류큐 제도 (Ryukyu jedo)Japanese island chain
Polish Riukiu
- RiukiuJapanese island chain
Portuguese Ilhas Léquias
- Ilhas LéquiasJapanese island chain
Russian Рюкю́
- Рюкю́ (Rjukjú)Japanese island chain
Slovak Rjúkju (Rjúkjú)
- Rjúkju (Rjúkjú)Japanese island chain
Vietnamese Lưu Cầu
- Lưu CầuJapanese island chain
Cite this entry
Ryukyu. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ryukyu
“Ryukyu.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ryukyu. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ryukyu,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ryukyu.
Source: Ryukyu on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.