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国歌 (guó gē) — national anthem

Definition

The national anthem of a country — the official song, typically sung or played at ceremonies. Pairs with 国旗 (the national flag) as a symbol of the nation.

noun
national anthem
Measure word · 首

Examples

  • ，国歌。
    Zài ào yùn huì shàng, wǒ men tīng dào le guó gē.
    At the Olympics, we heard the national anthem.
  • 国歌。
    Měi gè xué shēng dōu yīng gāi xué huì chàng guó gē.
    Every student should learn to sing the national anthem.
  • 国歌。
    Zhè shǒu guó gē yǐ jīng yǒu bā shí duō nián de lì shǐ le.
    This national anthem has a history of over eighty years.

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.

国guócountry
歌gēsong

国 means country and 歌 means song, so the word names the song of the 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.

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 →

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
欠欠qiànblow
Sound part声符shēngfú
哥
哥gē歌gē
Same sound today

The shape 歌 uses 哥 for the sound and 欠, meaning blow. It came from a form of 哥 used for singing.

Open 歌 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Government & PoliticsMusic

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