Kilo Lingo

(quán guó) - the whole country, nationwide in Mandarin

quánguó

Traditional: 全國

#2599 of 5,000 Core 5000

Translation

the whole country, nationwide

Word origin

A compound of 全 (quán, whole, complete) and 国 (guó, country), whose traditional form 國 shows a border 囗 enclosing 或.

Origin
compound
Root
全 (quán, whole) + 国 (guó, country)

Stroke order

Stroke order for 全

Stroke order for 国

Examples

biàn

The news spread across the whole country.

He is the fastest runner in the country.

Schools nationwide are on holiday tomorrow.

bǎi

This shop has three hundred branches nationwide.

People all over the country are watching this match.

全国 (quán guó) means the entire country taken as one unit. It attaches to almost anything with 的 or directly, giving 全国人民 the people of the whole country, 全国第一 first in the country, 全国范围 nationwide in scope. In news writing it is everywhere.

It sits in a productive family with the same 全: 全世界 the whole world, 全校 the whole school, 全家 the whole family, 全班 the whole class. Learn the pattern once and a dozen words come free.

The trap is which country. 全国 always means the speaker's own country, and in Chinese-language media that means China unless something says otherwise. If you mean the whole of Britain you must say 全英国; saying 全国 in a Chinese conversation and meaning the UK will be misheard every time.

Where this fits

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Mandarin · Free printables

全国: worksheet, infographic and listicle

Free printable study downloads for the Mandarin word "全国" (the whole country, nationwide): a worksheet with the answer key built in, an infographic, and a sentence listicle. Open any one to view, print or save.

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This word is part of lesson 52.