国法 (guó fǎ) — national law; law of the land

Definition

noun

national lawlaw of the land

国法。
Měi gè gōng mín dōu yào zūn shǒu guó fǎ.
Every citizen must abide by the national law.
国法。
guó fǎ Miàn qián rén rén píng děng.
Everyone is equal before the national law.
国法。
Wéi fǎn guó fǎ huì shòu dào yán lì de chéng fá.
Violating national law will result in severe punishment.

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” contributes country and “法” contributes law, yielding the law of a 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.

囗或國

Meaning part形符xíngfú

囗囗wéiclosure

Sound part声符shēngfú

或

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.

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

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

廌廌zhìa type of antelope or caprid

Sound part声符shēngfú

盍

盍hé法fǎ

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

法's older form combined 氵 (water) and 廌 (a type of antelope or caprid), with 盍 as a sound part; later 廌 was dropped.