国殇 (guó shāng) — national martyr (term of reverence for one who dies in defense of the country, especially a young soldier)

Definition

国殇 (guó shāng) is a literary, reverent term for one who dies for the country — used in poetry, memorials, and obituaries rather than everyday speech. It carries a solemn, elegiac tone.

noun
national martyr (term of reverence for one who dies in defense of the country, especially a young soldier)

Examples

  • 国殇。
    Zhè shǒu shī gē jì lù le zhàn shì men de guó shāng.
    This poem records the soldiers' national martyrdom.
  • 国殇。
    Wǒ men yǒng yuǎn míng jì nà xiē wèi guó juān qū de guó shāng.
    We will forever remember those who died for the country as national martyrs.
  • ，国殇。
    Zài jì niàn guǎn lǐ, rén men xiàng guó shāng jìng xiàn huā quān.
    At the memorial hall, people offered wreaths to the national martyrs.

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
殇shāngdeath

国 and 殇 name a death for 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 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 殇 →

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