千乗の国

Japanese

Kanji in this term
千	乗	国
せん Grade: 1	じょう Grade: 3	くに Grade: 2

Alternative spelling
千乘の國 (kyūjitai)

Etymology

Noun phrase, composed of 千乗 (senjō, “one thousand chariots”) + の (no, possessive marker) + 国 (kuni, “country, state”).

Ultimately borrowed from Literary Chinese 千乘之國.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [sẽ̞ɲ̟d͡ʑo̞ː no̞ kɯ̟ɲ̟i]

Idiom

千(せん)乗(じょう)の国(くに) • (senjō no kuni) 

1. (ancient China) a state with a thousand chariots; (by extension) a medium-sized state
   • Confucius, 学而第一:

     子曰く、千乗の国を道びくに、事を敬して信、用を節して人を愛し、民を使うに時を以てす。

     Shi iwaku, senjō no kuni o michibiku ni, koto o keishite shin, yō o sesshite hito o aishi, tami o tsukau ni toki o motte su.

Related terms

• 万乗(ばんじょう)の国(くに) (banjō no kuni)
• 百乗(ひゃくじょう)の国(くに) (hyakujō no kuni)

References

• The Kōjien (広辞苑) Dictionary of the Japanese Language, 5th edition, Iwanami Shoten Publishing, Tokyo.