Meaning of 祖国
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- motherland
How to use 祖国
祖国 is a formal, emotional word for one's homeland, common in speeches, songs, news and patriotic writing. In everyday talk people often just say 中国 or 我的国家. Example: 我爱我的祖国。(Wǒ ài wǒ de zǔguó.) I love my motherland.
祖 (zǔ) means ancestor and 国 (guó) means country, so 祖国 is the country of your ancestors. Picture your grandparents' grandparents standing inside the borders of 国.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes use 祖国 as a neutral word for any country, but 国家 (guójiā) is the general term and 祖国 only means your own homeland. Also watch the tone: 祖 is third tone zǔ, not fourth tone zù.
祖国 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.
祖 zǔ · ancestor · 9 strokes
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国 guó · country · 8 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 祖国.
| 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 |
| 国内 | guó nèi | domestic; internal (to a country) |
| 联合国 | Liánhéguó | United Nations |
| 国庆 | guóqìng | National Day |
| 爱国 | àiguó | to love one's country; patriotic |
Questions about 祖国
What does 祖国 mean?
祖国 (zǔguó) means "motherland" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 祖国?
祖国 is made of 2 characters: 祖 (9 strokes), 国 (8 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 祖国 an HSK word?
Yes. 祖国 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 祖国 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 祖国 is written 祖國.
Can I use 祖国 to talk about someone else's home country?
Yes, if it is their homeland, for example 他的祖国是法国 (Tā de zǔguó shì Fǎguó), His motherland is France. It always refers to the country a person or their family comes from.
Is 祖国 the same as 家乡?
No. 家乡 (jiāxiāng) means hometown, your town or region. 祖国 is the whole nation you belong to.