【国】(koku, kuni/ country) Japanese Kanji / JLPT N5

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In this time, I will introduce the Kanji character 国.

old form

This character (國) is in the old form

How to read

① Onyomi (Chinese reading)

The on-readings are
・こく　koku

For example,
・国語　こくご　kokku-go
It means national language, Japanese language

・外国　がいこく　gai-koku
It means foreign country
・外国人　がいこくじん　gai-koku jin
It means foreign people

・中国　ちゅうごく　chū-goku
It means China

・韓国　かんこく　kan-koku
It means Korea

・英国　えいこく　ei-koku
It means U.K.

・米国　べいこく　bei-koku
It means U.S.A.

・国内　こくない　koku-nai
It means domestic
・国内線　こくないせん　koku-nai sen
It means domestic air route

・国際　こくさい　koku-sai
It means International
・国際線　こくさいせん　koku-sai sen
It means international air route
東京国際空港　とうきょうこくさいくうこう　tokyo koku-sai kū-kou
Tokyo International Airport

and so on.

② Kunyomi (Japanese reading)

Next, the kun-reading is
・くに　kuni

For example,
・国　くに　kuni
It means country

and so on.

③ Special reading

No special reading

Meanings

Next is the meaning of the kanji for 右.
This kanji is used in the next meanings
・country
・nation

Radical

And the radical of this character is 囗　kuni-gamae
This character itself is a radical, a basic character.

Family name

Next, I will introduce family names. Here are some family names that are particularly common in Japan.
・国府田　こうだ　kouda
・国仲　くになか　kuninaka
・国生　こくしょう　kokushou
・国分　こくぶん、こくぶ　kokubun, kokubu
・国枝　くにえだ　kunieda

But not many.

Personal name

These are the most common personal names using the Kanji for 国
・国夫　くにお　kunio
・国光　くにみつ　kunimitsu

Famous person

Next, I will introduce Japanese celebrities who use the Kanji 国
・出雲 阿国　いずものおくに　Izumo no Okuni
She was the founder of Kabuki.

・国木田 独歩　くにきだどっぽ　Kunikida Doppo
He was a novelist.

・三國 連太郎　みくにれんたろう　Mikuni Rentarou
He was an actor.

・大塚 国夫　おおつかくにお　Ōtsuka Kunio
He is a voice actor.

・国枝 慎吾　くにえだしんご　Kunieda Shingo
He's a tennis player.

place

Next, I will introduce place names and tourist attractions that use the Chinese character for 国.
・国会議事堂　こっかいぎじどう　kokkai gi-ji-dou
National Diet Building
You can take a tour inside.

・靖国神社　やすくにじんじゃ　yasu-kuni jin-ja
Yasukuni Shrine
The war dead of World War II are enshrined here.

・国立競技場　こくりつきょうぎじょう　koku-ritsu kyō-gi-jō
Japan National Stadium
A stadium for soccer and track and field events.
The opening ceremony was held at the Tokyo Olympics here

・両国国技館　りょうごくこくぎかん　ryō-goku koku-gi-kan
Ryogoku Sumo Hall
Sumo wrestling takes place here.

Look-alikes

Here are some kanji that are similar to 国
・匡　きょう、ただ-す　kyō, tada-su
It means correct
This kanji is used primarily in personal names.
It is rarely used in daily life.

kanji that contain character 国 in their composition

Here are some kanji that contain character 国 in their composition.
・掴　かく、つか-む　kaku, tsuka-mu
It means catch, grab

↓Other kanji characters can be found in the list here↓

Tags

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