国家

Etymology & Components

The Chinese word 国家 (guójiā) for "country" or "nation" is composed of two characters: 国 (guó) and 家 (jiā). The character 国 originally meant "city" or "state" and was often used to refer to the capital city of a country. It is composed of the radical 囗 (wéi), which represents an enclosure, and the character 玉 (yù), which represents a valuable object. This suggests that the original meaning of 国 was a place where valuable objects were stored or a place of importance.The character 家 (jiā) originally meant "family" or "household" and was often used to refer to a group of people living together. It is composed of the radical 宀 (mián), which represents a roof, and the character豕 (shǐ), which represents a pig. This suggests that the original meaning of 家 was a place where pigs were kept, which was an important part of a household in ancient China.Over time, the meanings of 国 and 家 expanded to include the broader concepts of "country" and "nation." The combination of these two characters in 国家 (guójiā) emphasizes the idea of a country as a political entity composed of multiple families or households.