中国

See also: 中國

Chinese

For pronunciation and definitions of 中国 – see 中國 (“China; royal court; imperial court; imperial household; imperial government; etc.”). (This term, 中国, is the simplified form of 中國.)

Notes: Simplified Chinese is mainly used in Mainland China, Malaysia and Singapore. Traditional Chinese is mainly used in Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.

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Japanese

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
中	国
ちゅう Grade: 1	こく > ごく Grade: 2
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
中國 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese 中國 (MC ʈɨuŋ kwək̚, literally “central country”). Compare modern Cantonese 中國 (zung¹ gwok³).

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium. Particularly: “Where the "China" sense first attested in a Japanese document?”)

Proper noun

中国(ちゅうごく) • (Chūgoku)  (kyūjitai 中國)

1. China, especially short for 中華人民共和国 (Chūka Jinmin Kyōwakoku), the People's Republic of China
   • 1998 November 30 [Nov 25 1990], 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), volume 10 (fiction), 22nd edition, 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 look, isn’t that a 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.

     It is! And what country is this anyway?

     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.

     There are countries like America and China, aren’t there?

     ぼくらは日(にっ)本(ぽん)からきたんだけど…。

     Bokura wa Nippon kara kitan dakedo….

     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.

Derived terms

• 中(ちゅう)国(ごく)語(ご) (Chūgoku-go, “Chinese language”)
• 中(ちゅう)国(ごく)人(じん) (Chūgoku-jin, “Chinese person/people”)
• 中(ちゅう)国(ごく)料(りょう)理(り) (Chūgoku ryōri, “Chinese cuisine”)

Related terms

• 中(ちゅう)華(か) (Chūka)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
中	国
ちゅう Grade: 1	こく > ごく Grade: 2
on’yomi

Alternative spelling
中國 (kyūjitai)

From Middle Chinese 中國 (MC ʈɨuŋ kwək̚). (Can this⁽⁺⁾ etymology be sourced?)

Analyzable as a compound of 中 (chū, “center, middle”) +‎ 国 (koku, “country”). The koku changes to goku as an instance of rendaku (連濁).

Pronunciation

• On’yomi
• (Tokyo) ちゅ​うごく [chúꜜùgòkù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• (Tokyo) ちゅうごく [chùúgókú] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [t͡ɕɨᵝːɡo̞kɯ̟ᵝ]

• Audio

  (file)

Noun

中国(ちゅうごく) • (chūgoku)  (kyūjitai 中國)

1. the central part of a country, historically, commonly known as the capital city or the main region, where an emperor or other ruler resides
2. something within a country
3. (historical) under the 律令 (Ritsuryō) system, a province of the third rank according to a four-rank system based on population and area
4. (historical) under the 律令 (Ritsuryō) system, a province of the second rank according to the distance from the capital city
5. collective term for the 山陽道 (San'yōdō) and 山陰道 (San'indō) regions of Japan

Derived terms

• 中(ちゅう)国(ごく)地(ち)方(ほう) (Chūgoku chihō)

Proper noun

中国(ちゅうごく) • (Chūgoku)  (kyūjitai 中國)

1. Short for 中国地方 (Chūgoku chihō): the Chūgoku region of Japan

Etymology 3

Kanji in this term
中	国
なか Grade: 1	くに Grade: 2
kun’yomi

Alternative spelling
中國 (kyūjitai)

From 中 (naka, “center, middle”) +‎ 国 (kuni, “country”).

Proper noun

中国(なかくに) • (Nakakuni)  (kyūjitai 中國)

1. a surname

See also

• 中(なか)つ国(くに) (naka tsu kuni)

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Zhuang

Proper noun

中国

1. Sawndip form of Cunghgoz