noun
your country; your hometown
Honorific term used when respectfully referring to the listener's native country or hometown. Often used in formal or polite conversation.
お国はどちらですか。
Which country are you from? (polite)
お国の料理を教えてください。
Please tell me about the cuisine of your home country.
noun
my home country (Japan)
Polite way to refer to one's own country, Japan, especially when speaking to someone from outside Japan. Carries a humble nuance about one's own country.
お国では、このような習慣はありません。
In my country (Japan), we don't have such a custom.
noun
Refers to the countryside or rural areas, often with a nostalgic or traditional nuance. Can be used neutrally or affectionately.
お国から出てきて、都会の生活に慣れない。
Having come from the countryside, I'm not used to city life.
お国言葉が抜けない。
I can't shake off my rural dialect.
noun
daimyo's territory (Edo period)
Archaic term used in the Edo period to refer to the domain or territory of a daimyo. Not used in modern Japanese outside historical contexts.
江戸時代、お国元へ帰ることを「お国入り」と言った。
In the Edo period, returning to one's domain was called 'okuni-iri'.
More formal and literary term for 'hometown' or 'birthplace'. お国 is warmer and more colloquial when used for hometown.
Common word for 'countryside' or 'rural area', often with a slightly negative nuance of being backward. お国 in sense 3 is more nostalgic or affectionate.
Polite form of 国 (くに, 'country') with the honorific prefix お. The reading おくに is a standard combination of お + くに.