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共和国 (gòng hé guó) — republic

Definition

noun
republic
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 共和国，。
    Xǔ duō guó jiā dōu shì gòng hé guó, dàn yǒu xiē shì jūn zhǔ guó.
    Many countries are republics, but some are monarchies.
  • 共和国。
    gòng hé guó Zǒng tǒng yóu rén mín xuǎn jǔ chǎn shēng.
    The president of a republic is elected by the people.
  • 共和国，。
    Zài zhè ge gòng hé guó lǐ, fǎ lǜ bǎo hù měi gè gōng mín de quán lì.
    In this republic, the law protects the rights of every citizen.

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.

共和shared harmony
共gòngshared和héharmony
联合Coordinate
国guóstate

共 and 和 suggest common harmony, and 国 names the state, so the word denotes a republic.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 廾廾gǒngtwo hands
  • 口口kǒuan object

共 shows 廾, two hands, holding up an object. That object was written 口 and later became the 廿-like top.

Open 共 →

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth
Sound part声符shēngfú
禾
禾hé和hé
Same sound today

和 pairs 禾, which gives the sound, with 口 (mouth), the meaning part; the reference connects this shape to harmony.

Open 和 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Government & Politics

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