Meaning of 爱国
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to love one's country
- patriotic
How to use 爱国
爱国 works as a verb meaning to love one's country and as an adjective meaning patriotic. It often appears in set phrases like 爱国主义 (àiguó zhǔyì, patriotism) and 爱国精神 (àiguó jīngshén, patriotic spirit). Example: 他是一个很爱国的人。(Tā shì yí gè hěn àiguó de rén.) He is a very patriotic person.
爱 (ài) means love and 国 (guó) means country, so 爱国 is simply love plus country. Picture the 玉 inside the box of 国 as a treasure the whole country guards, and 爱 as the feeling you have for it.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes say 爱我的国 to mean love my country, but the natural phrase is 爱国 or 热爱祖国 (rè'ài zǔguó). Also keep the tones straight: ài is fourth tone and guó is second tone, not àiguǒ.
爱国 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.
爱 ài · to love · 10 strokes
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国 guó · country · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 爱国.
| 国家 | guójiā | country; nation; state |
| 中国 | Zhōngguó | China |
| 外国 | wàiguó | foreign country |
| 国外 | guó wài | abroad; external (affairs) |
| 爱好 | àihào | to like; to be fond of; to take pleasure in; to be keen on; interest; hobby |
| 可爱 | kě'ài | adorable; cute |
| 爱情 | àiqíng | romance; love (romantic) |
| 国际 | guójì | international |
| 全国 | quánguó | whole nation; nationwide |
| 爱人 | àiren | spouse (PRC); lover (non-PRC) |
| 出国 | chūguó | to go abroad; to leave the country |
| 回国 | huí guó | to return to one's home country |
Questions about 爱国
What does 爱国 mean?
爱国 (àiguó) means "to love one's country; patriotic".
How do you write 爱国?
爱国 is made of 2 characters: 爱 (10 strokes), 国 (8 strokes). That is 18 strokes in total.
Is 爱国 an HSK word?
Yes. 爱国 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 爱国 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 爱国 is written 愛國.
Can I put an object after 爱国, like 爱国中国?
No. 爱国 already contains its object 国, so you do not add another country after it. To name the country, say 爱中国 (ài Zhōngguó) or 热爱祖国 (rè'ài zǔguó).
What is the difference between 爱国 and 国家?
爱国 describes a feeling or attitude, loving one's country or being patriotic. 国家 (guójiā) is a noun that means the country or state itself. For example, 爱国家 is not standard, but 热爱国家 (rè'ài guójiā) means to deeply love the nation.