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国宝 (guó bǎo) — national treasure

Definition

国宝 (guóbǎo) is a country's own prized heritage — animals, artifacts, or cultural items of national significance. 瑰宝 is a more literary 'gem' that can also describe people; 藏品 is anything in a collection, not necessarily prized at the national level.

noun
national treasure
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • 国宝。
    Dà xióng māo shì zhōng guó de guó bǎo.
    Giant pandas are China's national treasure.
  • 国宝，。
    Zhè xiē shū huà shì guó bǎo, yào hǎo hǎo bǎo hù.
    These calligraphy and paintings are national treasures and must be well protected.
  • 国宝，。
    Dà xióng māo shì zhōng guó de guó bǎo, quán shì jiè dōu hěn xǐ huan tā.
    Giant pandas are China's national treasure, and the whole world likes them very much.

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/national
宝bǎotreasure

国 points to the country or nation, and 宝 means treasure, so 国宝 denotes a treasure belonging to the nation.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 寶; 宝 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀miánhouse
  • 琡琡chùjade
  • 貝貝bèicowry

The traditional form 寶 shows 宀 (house), 琡 (jade), and 貝 (cowry), drawn together as treasures in a house.

Open 宝 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6Government & Politics

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