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德国 (Dé guó) — Germany

Definition

noun
Germany

Examples

  • 德国。
    Tā míng nián yào qù Dé guó liú xué.
    She is going to study abroad in Germany next year.
  • 德国。
    Dé guó De pí jiǔ hěn yǒu míng.
    German beer is very famous.
  • 德国。
    Wǒ cóng Dé guó mǎi le yì tái xiàng jī.
    I bought a camera from Germany.

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.

德déGerman
国guócountry

“德” German plus “国” country names Germany.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
彳彳chìroad
Sound part声符shēngfú
惪
惪dé德dé
Same sound today

德 combines 彳, a road, with 惪, a component meaning virtue that also supplies the sound.

Open 德 →

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 →
Appears in
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