国内 (guó nèi) — domestic; internal; within the country

Definition

国内 (guónèi) means 'domestic / within one's own country' — the counterpart to 国外 ('overseas/abroad'). It refers to scope and location, not quality.

domesticinternalwithin the country

Examples

  • 国内。
    guó nèi Jīng jì zhèng zài kuài sù fā zhǎn.
    The domestic economy is growing rapidly.
  • 国内。
    Tā zhǔ yào cóng shì guó nèi mào yì.
    He is mainly engaged in domestic trade.
  • 国内。
    Zhè ge zhèng cè zhī shì yòng yú guó nèi.
    This policy only applies within the country.

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.

国guócountry
内nèiinside

“国” (country) and “内” (inside) combine to mean domestic or within the 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 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 →

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

  • 入入rùto enter
  • 冂冂jiōnghouse

The shape shows 入 entering into 冂, a house, so it pictures bringing something indoors, giving the sense inside.

Open 内 →

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