国运 (guó yùn) — national destiny; fate of the nation

Definition

noun
national destinyfate of the nation

Examples

  • 国运。
    Guó jiā de guó yùn yǔ měi gè gōng mín xī xī xiāng guān.
    The nation's destiny is closely linked to every citizen.
  • 国运。
    Lì shǐ shàng xǔ duō cháo dài de guó yùn dōu jīng lì le xīng shuāi.
    In history, the fortunes of many dynasties experienced rises and falls.
  • 国运。
    Wǒ men xiāng xìn guó yùn huì yuè lái yuè hǎo.
    We believe the nation's destiny will get better and better.

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
运yùnfortune

国 and 运 name the fortune 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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 運; 运 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
辵辵chuòmotion
Sound part声符shēngfú
軍
軍jūn運yùn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 運 combines 辵, meaning motion, with 軍 to give the sound; the simplified 运 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 运 →

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