中立国 (zhōng lì guó) — neutral state, neutral country

Definition

noun
neutral stateneutral country
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 中立国。
    Ruì shì shì yí gè yǒng jiǔ zhōng lì guó.
    Switzerland is a permanently neutral country.
  • 中立国。
    Zhè ge zhōng lì guó zài zhàn zhēng zhōng bǎo chí zhōng lì.
    This neutral state remained neutral during the war.
  • 。
    Liǎng gè zhōng lì guó qiān shǔ le hé píng xié yì.
    The two neutral countries signed a peace agreement.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

中立neutral
中zhōngmiddle立lìstand
偏正Modifier + head
国guóstate

中 gives middle and 立 gives stand, forming neutral; 国 adds state.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

立 pictures a person standing on the ground.

Open 立 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 國; 国 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
囗囗wéiclosure
Sound part声符shēngfú
或
或huò國guó
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 國 uses 囗 to show closure and 或 to give the sound.

Open 国 →

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