国

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See also: 國 and 囯
国 U+56FD, 国
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-56FD
← 囼
 		CJK Unified Ideographs 图 →

Translingual

Japanese 国
Simplified 国
Traditional 國
Stroke order (Mainland China)
8 strokes
Stroke order
(Chinese)
Stroke order
(Japan)

Han character

国 (Kangxi radical 31, 囗+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 田一土戈 (WMGI), four-corner 60103, composition ⿴囗玉)

Derived characters

References

  • Kangxi Dictionary: not present, would follow page 218, character 4
  • Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 4752
  • Dae Jaweon: page 446, character 7
  • Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 716, character 7
  • Unihan data for U+56FD

Chinese

Glyph origin

Simplified from 國 (或 → 玉). Also compare 囯, an unorthodox variant of 國 that contains 王 (“king”) instead of 玉 (“jade”).

Definitions

For pronunciation and definitions of 国 – see 國 (“country; nation; nation-state; kingdom; capital; etc.”).
(This character is the simplified and variant form of 國).
Notes:

Japanese

Shinjitai

国

Kyūjitai

國

Kanji

国

(Second grade kyōiku kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 國)

Readings

  • Go-on: こく (koku, Jōyō)
  • Kan-on: こく (koku, Jōyō)
  • Kun: くに (kuni, 国, Jōyō)
  • Nanori: くな (kuna)、こ (ko)、こう (kō)

Compounds

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
国
くに
Grade: 2
kun'yomi
Alternative spellings
國 (kyūjitai)
邦 (uncommon)

From Old Japanese. Appears in the Kojiki of 712,[1] the Nihon Shoki completed in 720, and the Man'yōshū completed some time after 759.[2] Perhaps related to Middle Chinese 郡 (MC gjunH, “geographic region: commandery, prefecture”).

Pronunciation

Noun

国(くに) • (kuni) 

  1. a land, a large place
  2. a country in general, a region
  3. a country as in a nation, a state
    • 1998 November 30 [1990 November 25], Fujiko F. Fujio, のび太(た)とアニマル惑星(プラネット) [Nobita and the Animal Planet] (大長編ドラえもん; 10), 22nd edition, volume 10 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 27:
      ねえねえ、今(いま)の地(ち)図(ず)みた⁉
      Nē nē, ima no chizu mita⁉
      Hey, did you see that map!?
      みた！いったいここはなんという国(くに)だろう。
      Mita! Ittai koko wa nan to iu kuni darō.
      I did! I wonder what country this is.
      クニ？クニってなあに。
      Kuni? Kuni tte nāni.
      Country? What’s a country?
      アメリカとか中(ちゅう)国(ごく)とかいろいろあるじゃない。
      Amerika toka Chūgoku toka iroiro aru ja nai.
      You know, countries. There are a bunch of them like America and China.
      ぼくらは日(にっ)本(ぽん)からきたんだけど…。
      Bokura wa Nippon kara kita n da kedo….
      We’re from Japan, by the way...
      ニッポン？きいたことない。
      Nippon? Kiita koto nai.
      Japan? I’ve never heard of that before.
  4. the office of emperor, the crown; affairs of state
  5. a province of ancient Japan
  6. the national government in ancient Japan; the national capital in ancient Japan
  7. one's birthplace, where one is from, one's home
    • 1994 January 20 [1988 December 17], Akira Oze, “第８話　酒蔵の子 [Child of the Brewery]”, in 夏子の酒 [Natsuko’s Saké], 14th edition, volume 1 (fiction), Tōkyō: Kōdansha, →ISBN, page 183:
      ううん……もう来(こ)ないと思(おも)う　たぶん
      Ūn……mō konai to omou tabun
      No... I don’t think I’ll be coming back any time soon.
      どうして？
      Dō shite?
      How come?
      故郷(クニ)にね……帰(かえ)るの
      Kuni ni ne…… kaeru no
      I’m moving back home.
Synonyms
Derived terms
Descendants
  • → Northern Ryukyuan:
    • → Kunigami: 国 (khunī)
    • → Northern Amami Ōshima: 国 (kuni)
    • → Okinawan: 国 (kuni)
    • → Southern Amami Ōshima: 国 (kunī)
    • → Tokunoshima: 国 (kunī)
    • → Yoron: 国 (kuni)
  • → Southern Ryukyuan:
    • → Miyako: 国 (kuni)
    • → Yaeyama: 国 (fun, kuni)
    • → Yonaguni: 国 (kuni)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
国
こく
Grade: 2
on'yomi
Alternative spelling
國 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese 國 (MC kwok, “country, nation”).

Pronunciation

This entry needs an audio pronunciation. If you are a native speaker with a microphone, please record this word. The recorded pronunciation will appear here when it's ready.

Noun

国(こく) • (koku) 

  1. a land, a large place
  2. a country in general, a region
  3. a country as in a nation, a state
Usage notes

Most often found in compounds.

References

  1. ^ “国・邦”, in 日本国語大辞典 [Nihon Kokugo Daijiten]‎ (in Japanese), concise edition, Tokyo: Shogakukan, 2006
  2. ^ Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
  3. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  4. ^ NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tokyo: NHK Publishing, Inc., →ISBN

Korean

Hanja

国 (eumhun 나라 국 (nara guk))

  1. Alternative form of 國 (“hanja form? of 국 (“country; state; nation; land”)”)

References

Vietnamese

Han character

国: Hán Việt readings: quốc[1][2]
国: Nôm readings: quốc[1]

  1. Alternative form of 國 (“chữ Hán form of quốc (“(only in compounds) nation; state; country”).”)

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Nguyễn et al. (2009).
  2. ^ Trần (2004).
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