国势 (guó shì) — national strength; the overall situation of a nation

Definition

国势 (guó shì) refers to a nation's overall strength and situation, combining economic, military, and political power. It is a formal, written term — more comprehensive than simply 军事 'military strength.'

noun
national strengththe overall situation of a nation
Easily confused

Examples

  • 国势、。
    Fēn xī yí gè guó jiā de guó shì xū yào zōng hé kǎo lǜ jīng jì, jūn shì hé zhèng zhì yīn sù.
    Analyzing a country's national strength requires considering economic, military, and political factors.
  • 国势。
    Dāng qián guó jì guó shì de biàn huà duì quán qiú mào yì chǎn shēng le shēn yuǎn yǐng xiǎng.
    The changes in the current international situation have had a profound impact on global trade.
  • ，国势。
    Lì shǐ shàng, yí gè guó jiā de guó shì wǎng wǎng jué dìng le tā zài shì jiè shàng de dì wèi.
    Historically, a country's national strength often determined its position in the world.

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
势shìsituation

国 means country and 势 means situation or strength; together they describe the state's overall power or condition.

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 →

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 勢; 势 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìpower
Sound part声符shēngfú
埶
埶yì勢shì
Same sound today

The traditional form 勢 combines 力, meaning power, with 埶 for the sound. The simplified 势 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 势 →

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