别国 (bié guó) — other countries; foreign countries

Definition

pronoun
other countriesforeign countries

Examples

  • 别国。
    Zhōng guó yǔ bié guó jiàn lì le wài jiāo guān xì.
    China established diplomatic relations with other countries.
  • 别国。
    Tā céng zài bié guó shēng huó le shí nián.
    He lived in foreign countries for ten years.
  • 别国。
    Zhè xiē chǎn pǐn zhǔ yào chū kǒu dào bié guó.
    These products are mainly exported to other countries.

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.

别biéother
国guócountry

“别” gives the sense of other and “国” gives country, so the sense is other countries.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 別; 别 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 別 pairs 冎 (bone) with 刀 (knife), showing a knife cutting up bone and flesh. The simplified 别 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 别 →

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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