爱国 (ài guó) — to love one's country; patriotic

Definition

爱国 means 'to love one's country / be patriotic,' used as a verb or adjective for a personal stance or value. Pairs naturally with 者 ('patriot') and 心 ('patriotism'); more concrete than the abstract noun 爱国主义.

verb

to love one's countrypatriotic

Examples

爱国。
Měi gè rén dōu yīng gāi ài guó.
Everyone should love their country.
，。
Tā ài le yí bèi zi de guó, cóng bù hòu huǐ.
He loved his country his whole life and never regretted it.
，。
Rén bù néng zhī ài zì jǐ de guó, yě yào zūn zhòng bié rén de guó.
People can't just love their own country; they should also respect others' countries.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

爱àilove

国guócountry

爱 love and 国 country combine to mean loving one's 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 愛; 爱 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

旡

旡jì愛ài

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

For the traditional form 愛, an older shape paired 心 (heart) with 旡 as its sound part; later a foot-like 夊 was added below. The simplified 爱 is a later variant that replaces the lower part with 友.

Open 爱 →

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.

囗或國

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 →