中国
China
HSK level
- Pinyin
- Zhōngguó
- Part of speech
- noun
- Level
- HSK 1
- Strokes
- 12
- Register
- neutral
- In episodes
- 1
Stroke order for 中国
中国 is written with 12 strokes (中: 4, 国: 8). The animation replays automatically.
What does 中国 mean?
中国 (Zhōngguó) is the Chinese name for China.
The literal reading is 'middle / central country' — a name that goes back over two thousand years to the Zhou dynasty, when 中国 referred to the central states of the Chinese cultural sphere. Today 中国 is the official short name for the People's Republic of China (中华人民共和国, Zhōnghuá Rénmín Gònghéguó). Two practical points: first, 中国 is a proper noun, so it's capitalized in pinyin (Zhōngguó).
Second, related words use 中 alone as a prefix meaning 'Chinese': 中文 (Chinese language, written), 中餐 (Chinese food), 中医 (Chinese medicine), 中式 (Chinese-style). A Chinese person is 中国人 (Zhōngguó rén); to speak Chinese is 说中文 or 说汉语.
Character by character
Memory hook: 中 looks like a flag pole through the middle of a target — the 'middle' country at the center of the world (as ancient Chinese maps showed it).
Hear 中国 in real episodes
中国 appears in 1 Fluentide podcast episode at natural native speed. Each sentence plays at the easiest difficulty it exists in — switch it to hear the same moment at your level, with full pinyin and English throughout.
叶军是中国人，他是上海人。
Jun Ye is Chinese; he's from Shanghai.
Jun Ye's Atomic Clock Won't Lose a Second in 15 Billion Years. Now He Has Won the Wolf Prize, Often a Step Before the Nobel.
Example sentences
我是中国人。
Wǒ shì Zhōngguó rén.
I'm Chinese.
spoken
我想去中国。
Wǒ xiǎng qù Zhōngguó.
I want to go to China.
spoken
中国很大。
Zhōngguó hěn dà.
China is big.
neutral
他有很多中国朋友。
Tā yǒu hěn duō Zhōngguó péngyou.
He has a lot of Chinese friends.
spoken
Common phrases with 中国
Synonyms
中华 is the literary / cultural-historical name for China, emphasizing Chinese civilization and heritage. Used in formal compound names like 中华人民共和国 (PRC) and 中华文化 (Chinese culture). 中国 is the everyday name.
Don't confuse 中国 with
Frequently asked questions
Related words from the same episodes
Acquire it by listening
Meet 中国 again — in real Chinese, at your level.
You just saw 中国 in 1 episode. Fluentide keeps feeding you news episodes at your level, so this word — and thousands like it — resurface in real sentences until they stick. Full pinyin and translation every time. Free to start.