该国 (gāi guó) — the said country; this country (formal, written language)

Definition

A formal written term for 'this country' or 'the country in question', typically used in news, reports, or academic prose. It refers back to a country already mentioned, not one being introduced for the first time.

pronoun
the said countrythis country (formal, written language)

Examples

  • 该国。
    gāi guó Zài guò qù shí nián zhōng qǔ dé le xiǎn zhù de jīng jì zēng zhǎng.
    This country has achieved remarkable economic growth over the past decade.
  • 该国。
    gāi guó De wài jiāo zhèng cè yǐ hé píng yǔ fā zhǎn wèi hé xīn.
    This country's foreign policy is centered on peace and development.
  • ，该国。
    Bào dào zhǐ chū, gāi guó lǐng dǎo rén jiāng yú xià yuè fǎng huá.
    The report points out that this country's leader will visit China next month.

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.

该gāisaid
国guócountry

该 'said' and 国 'country' refer to the country just mentioned.

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 該; 该 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
亥
亥hài該gāi
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 該 pairs 言 (speech) with 亥 as a sound part; the simplified 该 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 该 →

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 →

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