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叛国 (pàn guó) — to betray one's country, to commit treason

Definition

A formal, strong term meaning 'to betray one's country / commit treason' — typically used in political, legal, or historical writing, not everyday speech.

verb
to betray one's countryto commit treason

Examples

  • 。
    Tā yīn wèi pàn le guó ér bèi pàn xíng.
    He was sentenced for betraying his country.
  • 叛国。
    pàn guó Shì yì zhǒng yán zhòng de zuì xíng.
    Treason is a serious crime.
  • 叛国。
    Lì shǐ shàng yǒu hěn duō pàn guó de lì zi.
    There are many examples of treason in history.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

叛pànbetray
国guócountry

叛 means 'betray' and 国 means 'country', giving 'betray one's country'.

Characters in this word

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
反反fǎn
Sound part声符shēngfú
半
半bàn叛pàn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

叛 pairs 反 as its meaning part with 半 as its sound part.

Open 叛 →

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
Government & Politics

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