小国 (xiǎo guó) — small nation, small state (a country with a small territory or population)

Definition

noun
small nationsmall state (a country with a small territory or population)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 小国。
    Zhè ge xiǎo guó zài guó jì shàng fā huī zhe zhòng yào zuò yòng.
    This small nation plays an important role internationally.
  • 小国。
    Xǔ duō xiǎo guó kào lǚ yóu yè fā zhǎn jīng jì.
    Many small nations rely on tourism to develop their economy.
  • 小国，。
    Yì xiē xiǎo guó de zī yuán suī rán bù duō, dàn rén mín hěn xìng fú.
    Although some small nations have few resources, their people are very happy.

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.

小xiǎosmall
国guócountry

小 means small, and 国 means country; together they refer to a small nation.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

  • 八八bāto divide; to separate
  • 丨丨gǔnsmall object

The shape of 小 comes from three small dots, later elongated into its strokes; the apparent parts 八 and 丨 are a later way of seeing it.

Open 小 →

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 →

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