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
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.
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.
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'.
Please tell me about the cuisine of your home country.
I can't shake off my rural dialect.
local dialect; vernacular; provincialism
one's native dialect; regional accent
Standard polite/honorific spelling with honorific prefix お.
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.