JŌYŌ KANJI · Grade 2
country
country
Readings
Official Jōyō readings in table order
On’yomi 音読み
Kun’yomi 訓読み
Origin and meaning
The older 國 form joined an enclosure with a territory or border element to mean country.
Written form
The official Jōyō table also prints the following parenthesized form beside 国:
Compare manuscript and printed examples in the HNG historical glyph archive ↗. Where available, its dated samples document written forms; they do not establish the first use of this character in Japan.
Examples in the official table
- 国際，国家，外国
- 国，島国
When did it enter Japanese?
Chinese characters reached Japan through a long process of contact. Early inscribed objects and sixth-century Japanese names are documented; this is context for the writing system, not a first date for 国.
国 appears in the current Jōyō kanji table published on 30 November 2010. This records modern standard status, not the date the character was first used in Japan.
A dated first Japanese use for 国 has not been verified in the sources attached to this entry.
Agency for Cultural Affairs: writing history ↗ · 2010 Jōyō notice ↗