外がい国こくにルーツを持もつ

Meanings

1

expression, godan verb (-tsu)

have foreign roots; have foreign ancestry

Used to describe a person whose family background, citizenship, or ancestry originates from another country. Often appears in discussions of multicultural identity.

彼かの女じょは外がい国こくにルーツを持もつが、日本にほんで生うまれ育そだった。
She has foreign roots, but was born and raised in Japan.
外がい国こくに

ルーツ

を

持も

つ

子こ

どもたち

へ

の

日本にほん

語ご

教きょう

育いく

が

重じゅう

要よう

だ

。

Japanese language education for children with foreign roots is important.

Kanji

外outside
国country
持hold, have

Similar words

ハーフ
ハーフ specifically refers to a person of mixed Japanese and foreign parentage, while 外国にルーツを持つ is a broader expression that can include various types of foreign background, not limited to mixed ethnicity.
外がい国こく籍せき
外国籍 means 'foreign nationality' and focuses on legal citizenship status, whereas 外国にルーツを持つ emphasizes ancestral or cultural origins, which may or may not involve current foreign citizenship.

Etymology

A modern compound expression combining 外国 (foreign country), に (locative particle), ルーツ (roots, from English), を (object marker), and 持つ (to have/hold). The phrase likely emerged in the late 20th century as discussions of multicultural identity became more common in Japan.