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国家 (guó jiā) — country, nation, state

Definition

国家 is the full standalone word for 'country' (a nation as a political entity). 国 is the short bound form — you say 国家 or 国旗/国外, but rarely 国 alone as a whole word.

noun
countrynationstate
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 国家。
    Zhōng guó shì yí gè hěn dà de guó jiā.
    China is a very big country.
  • 国家。
    Měi gè guó jiā dōu yǒu bù tóng de wén huà.
    Every country has a different culture.
  • 。
    Wǒ guó jiā de lì shǐ hěn yǒu yì si.
    My country's history is very interesting.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

国guócountry
家jiāhome

国 means country, and 家 means home; together they mean 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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →
Appears in
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