TongTong
Sign in

国者 (guó zhě) — (literary) the state, the nation

Definition

A Classical Chinese (文言) noun meaning 'the state, the nation' — used in formal or literary prose, not everyday speech. It pairs with 的/之 (e.g. 国之/者) to form nominal phrases, unlike the modern 国家.

noun
(literary) the statethe nation

Examples

  • 国者。
    guó zhě Yǐ mín wéi běn.
    The state takes the people as its foundation.
  • 国者，。
    Fū guó zhě, bù kě bú zhì yě.
    The state must be governed.
  • 国者，。
    guó zhě Zhī xīng shuāi, xì yú mín xīn.
    The rise and fall of the state depends on the people's will.

Origin

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 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The form 者 originally drew a sugarcane with full stems, small points around it, and an open smiling mouth at the bottom.

Open 者 →
Appears in
Government & Politics

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.