跨国 (kuà guó) — transnational; multinational | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

跨国 means 'transnational / multinational' — 跨 carries 'to step across', so it stresses activity spanning multiple countries (trade, marriage, companies) rather than the physical act of crossing that 跨越 focuses on.

verb

transnationalmultinational

Examples

跨国。
Zhè shì yí gè kuà guó xiàng mù.
This is a transnational project.
跨国。
Tā men kuà guó mào yì le hěn duō nián.
They have been trading across borders for many years.
跨国。
kuà guó Hūn yīn yuè lái yuè cháng jiàn.
Transnational marriage is becoming more common.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

国guócountry

跨 means to cross and 国 means country; crossing countries gives the sense of multinational.

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

Sound part声符shēngfú

夸

夸kuā跨kuà

Same sound today

The left part 足, a foot, points to stepping or striding, while the right part 夸 gives the sound.

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.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 International & Diplomacy

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