祖国 (zǔ guó) — motherland; one's native land | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal, patriotic word for 'motherland' — one's country of origin, used in speeches, writing, and emotional contexts. Not for casual 'my country' in everyday talk.

noun

motherlandone's native land

Examples

祖国。
Měi gè gōng mín dōu yīng gāi rè ài zì jǐ de zǔ guó.
Every citizen should love their motherland.
祖国，。
Tā lí kāi zǔ guó yǐ jīng shí nián le, fēi cháng xiǎng jiā.
He left his motherland ten years ago and misses home very much.
祖国。
Zhè shǒu gē chàng chū le duì zǔ guó de shēn qíng.
This song expresses deep feelings for the motherland.

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.

祖zǔancestor

国guócountry

祖 “ancestor” and 国 “country” together mean one's ancestral 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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

且

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

祖 was made by adding 示 to 且, and 且 gives the sound.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 5 Government & Politics Society & Public Life

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