Meaning of 国王
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- king
How to use 国王
国王 is the standard word for a king, used for real monarchs, historical rulers, and kings in fairy tales or chess. It is often paired with 王后 (wánghòu) queen. Example: 这个国家的国王很年轻。(Zhège guójiā de guówáng hěn niánqīng.) The king of this country is very young.
国 (guó) means country and 王 (wáng) means king, so 国王 is literally the king of a country. Picture 王 sitting inside the walls of 国, where it looks almost like 玉 with a dot, ruling the land.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 王 inside 国 instead of 玉, forgetting the small dot in the lower right. Both syllables are second tone, so say guówáng with two rising tones, not guǒwàng.
国王 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
国 guó · country · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
王 wáng · king or monarch · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Related words
Words that share a character with 国王.
| 国家 | guójiā | country; nation; state |
| 中国 | Zhōngguó | China |
| 外国 | wàiguó | foreign country |
| 国外 | guó wài | abroad; external (affairs) |
| 国际 | guójì | international |
| 全国 | quánguó | whole nation; nationwide |
| 出国 | chūguó | to go abroad; to leave the country |
| 回国 | huí guó | to return to one's home country |
| 老王 | Lǎo Wáng | |
| 小王 | Xiǎo Wáng | |
| 国内 | guó nèi | domestic; internal (to a country) |
| 联合国 | Liánhéguó | United Nations |
Questions about 国王
What does 国王 mean?
国王 (guówáng) means "king" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 国王?
国王 is made of 2 characters: 国 (8 strokes), 王 (4 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 国王 an HSK word?
Yes. 国王 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 国王 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 国王 is written 國王.
What is the difference between 国王 and 皇帝?
皇帝 (huángdì) means emperor and is used for Chinese emperors and other empires. 国王 is a king of a kingdom, and it is the usual word for European or other foreign monarchs.
Can 王 alone mean king?
Yes, 王 (wáng) means king, especially in historical or literary contexts, such as 楚王 (Chǔ wáng) the King of Chu. In everyday modern speech, 国王 is more common, and 王 is also a very common surname.