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中国 (Zhōng guó) — China

Definition

中国 (Zhōngguó) is the standard, everyday name for 'China' — the country name used in almost all contexts. 中华 is a more formal, literary name for the same country (often China-and-its-culture).

noun
China

Examples

  • 中国。
    Zhōng guó Hěn dà.
    China is very big.
  • 中国。
    Wǒ shì Zhōng guó rén.
    I am Chinese.
  • 中国。
    Wǒ ài Zhōng guó.
    I love China.

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.

中zhōngmiddle
国guócountry

中国 combines 中, middle, with 国, country, literally the central country.

Characters in this word

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

The original picture showed a flagpole with a drum in the middle, set up in the center of a field.

Open 中 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 1HSK 2.0 Level 1China — Places2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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