卖国 (mài guó) — to betray one's country

Definition

A formal verb meaning 'to betray one's country,' almost always used in political or historical contexts (e.g. 卖国贼 'traitor'). Far stronger and more loaded than neutral words like 背叛.

verb
to betray one's country

Examples

  • 卖国。
    mài guó Shì yì zhǒng yán zhòng de fàn zuì xíng wéi.
    Betraying one's country is a serious crime.
  • 卖国。
    Lì shǐ shàng yǒu bù shǎo rén yīn wèi mài guó ér yí chòu wàn nián.
    In history, many people have been reviled for betraying their country.
  • 。
    Tā wèi le gè rén lì yì mài guò yí cì guó.
    He betrayed his country once for personal gain.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

卖màisell
国guócountry

卖 means sell, and 国 means country; together they mean selling out one's country.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 賣; 卖 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 賣 came from an older shape that joined 出 (go out) with 買 (buy), which gives the sound. The simplified 卖 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical ones.

Open 卖 →

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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