我国 (wǒ guó) — our country; China (in a national context)

Definition

noun

our countryChina (in a national context)

Examples

我国。
wǒ guó De jīng jì jìn nián lái fā zhǎn hěn kuài.
Our country's economy has developed rapidly in recent years.
我国。
Lái zì wǒ guó de duō wèi kē xué jiā cān jiā le zhè cì huì yì.
Many scientists from our country attended this conference.
我国。
wǒ guó De fǎ lǜ bǎo zhàng gōng mín de gè xiàng quán lì.
Our country's laws protect the various rights of citizens.

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.

我wǒmy; our

国guócountry

我 gives my or our and 国 gives country, so the word means our country.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

The glyph 我 originally drew a trident-like weapon. It was borrowed purely for its sound to write the pronoun "I", so the picture and the meaning are unrelated.

Open 我 →

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

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 →