中國

Hello, you have come here looking for the meaning of the word 中國. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word 中國, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say 中國 in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word 中國 you have here. The definition of the word 中國 will help you to be more precise and correct when speaking or writing your texts. Knowing the definition of中國, as well as those of other words, enriches your vocabulary and provides you with more and better linguistic resources.
See also: 中国

Chinese

middle; centre; within
middle; centre; within; among; in; while (doing something); during; China; Chinese; hit (the mark)
 
country; state; nation
trad. (中國)
simp. (中国)
anagram 國中国中
Literally: “middle country; central country”.
Wikipedia has articles on:

Pronunciation



Rime
Character
Reading # 1/2 1/1
Initial () (9) (28)
Final () (2) (132)
Tone (調) Level (Ø) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open Closed
Division () III I
Fanqie
Baxter trjuwng kwok
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/ʈɨuŋ/ /kwək̚/
Pan
Wuyun
/ʈiuŋ/ /kʷək̚/
Shao
Rongfen
/ȶiuŋ/ /kuək̚/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/ʈuwŋ/ /kwək̚/
Li
Rong
/ȶiuŋ/ /kuək̚/
Wang
Li
/ȶĭuŋ/ /kuək̚/
Bernard
Karlgren
/ȶi̯uŋ/ /kwək̚/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
zhōng guo
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
zung1 gwak1
BaxterSagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/2 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
zhōng guó
Middle
Chinese
‹ trjuwng › ‹ kwok ›
Old
Chinese
/*truŋ/ /*ʷˁək/
English center state (n.)

Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system:

* Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence;
* Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p;
* Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix;
* Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary;

* Period "." indicates syllable boundary.
Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character
Reading # 1/2 1/1
No. 17407 5547
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
0 0
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*tuŋ/ /*kʷɯːɡ/
This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!
Particularly: “Gan”
This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!
Particularly: “Jin”
This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!
Particularly: “Xiang”
This entry needs pronunciation information. If you are familiar with the IPA then please add some!
Particularly: “Northern Min”

Etymology 1

Earliest attested on the Western Zhou bronze vessel He zun. See Names of China#Zhongguo.

大邑商𠟭𠀠𢆶𠁩或 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
大邑商𠟭𠀠𢆶𠁩或 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
From: He zun inscription, translated by Pankenier (2013)
Wéi Wǔwáng jì kè Dàyìshāng, zé tíng gào yú Tiān, yuē: yú qí zhái zī Zhōngguó, zì zhī yì mín.
When King Wu conquered the great city Shang, he then made reverent declarations to Heaven, saying: "Let me dwell in this, the central region, and from here govern the people."

Proper noun

中國

  1. China (a country in Asia; capital: Beijing)
    中國和平崛起中国和平崛起  ―  Zhōngguó hépíng juéqǐ  ―  China's peaceful rise
    中國社會科學院中国社会科学院  ―  Zhōngguó shèhuìkēxuéyuàn  ―  the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences
    中國典籍英譯中国典籍英译  ―  Zhōngguó diǎnjí yīngyì  ―  English translations of Chinese classics
    干涉中國內政干涉中国内政  ―  gānshè Zhōngguó nèizhèng  ―  to interfere in China's internal affairs
    中國首都北京 [MSC, trad.]
    中国首都北京 [MSC, simp.]
    Zhōngguó de shǒudū shì Běijīng.
    The capital of China is Beijing.
    現在中國旅行 [MSC, trad.]
    现在中国旅行 [MSC, simp.]
    Tā xiànzài zài Zhōngguó lǚxíng.
    He's travelling around China right now.
    喜歡中國文學 [MSC, trad.]
    喜欢中国文学 [MSC, simp.]
    Nǐ xǐhuān Zhōngguó wénxué ma?
    Do you like Chinese literature?
Usage notes

This word referred to various states and regions throughout history:

Synonyms
  • (China):
Derived terms

Noun

中國

  1. (Classical) royal court; imperial court; imperial household; imperial government
  2. (Classical) central part of a country (historically, commonly known as the capital city or the main region, where an emperor or other ruler resides)
  3. (Classical) the Central Plain (area on the lower reaches of the Yellow River which formed the cradle of Chinese civilization)
  4. (Classical) people of the Central Plain
Synonyms
  • (royal court):
  • (central part of a country): (archaic) 國中国中 (guózhōng)
  • (the Central Plain): 中土 (Zhōngtǔ), 中原 (Zhōngyuán), 中州 (Zhōngzhōu)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (中國):

Others:

Etymology 2

Orthographic borrowing from Japanese (ちゅう)(ごく) (Chūgoku), from Chinese 中國 (MC trjuwng kwok, “the central part of a country”).

Proper noun

中國

  1. (~地方, 地區) the Chūgoku region of Japan

Etymology 3

Semantic loan from Sanskrit मध्यदेशे m sg (madhyadeśe, locative, literally in the Middle Country) (Aṣṭasāhasrikā Prajñāpāramitā; see Karashima, 2010) or मध्येषु जनपदेषु m pl (madhyeṣu janapadeṣu, in central countries) (Abhidharmakośakārikā); as opposed to the 邊地边地 (biāndì, “borderlands; frontiers”), from Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit प्रत्यन्तिम (pratyantima) / प्रत्यन्त (pratyanta) or Pali paccantima. Cognate to the Pali majjhimesu janapadesu (locative, literally in the middlemost countries) in the text parallel to the Ekottara Āgama in the Pali Canon.

Noun

中國

  1. (Buddhism) "central countries"; lands with advanced civilization and other conditions helpful for teaching Buddhism

Japanese

Kanji in this term
ちゅう
Grade: 1
こく > ごく
Jinmeiyō
on'yomi
For pronunciation and definitions of 中國 – see the following entry.
中国ちゅうごく
China
(historical or contemporary) any of several kingdoms, empires, or states of the Chinese people
(especially in contemporary usage) short for 中華人民共和国 (Chūka Jinmin Kyōwakoku), the People's Republic of China
the central part of a country, historically, commonly known as the capital city or the main region, where an emperor or other ruler resides
something within a country
(historical) under the 律令 (Ritsuryō) system, a province of the third rank according to a four-rank system based on population and area
(historical) under the 律令 (Ritsuryō) system, a province of the second rank according to the distance from the capital city
collective term for the 山陽道 (San'yōdō) and 山陰道 (San'indō) regions of Japan
Short for 中国地方 (Chūgoku chihō): the Chūgoku region of Japan
中国なかくに
a surname
(This term, 中國, is the kyūjitai of the above term.)

Korean

Hanja in this term

Proper noun

中國 (Jungguk) (hangeul 중국)

  1. hanja form? of 중국 (China)

Middle Korean

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle Chinese 中國 (MC trjuwng kwok, literally “central country”).

Pronunciation

Proper noun

中國 (*TYÙNG.KWÚK)

  1. China (a country in Asia)

Descendants

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term

Proper noun

中國

  1. chữ Hán form of Trung Quốc (China).

Zhuang

Proper noun

中國

  1. Sawndip form of Cunghgoz