合がっ衆しゅう国こく

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Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

1

noun

federation; federal state

General term for a union of states under a central government. Often used in country names like アメリカ合衆国.

アメリカは合がっ衆しゅう国こくとして知しられている。

America is known as a federal state.

合がっ衆しゅう国こく憲けん法ぽうは連れん邦ぽう政せい府ふの枠わく組ぐみを定さだめている。

The federal constitution defines the framework of the national government.

2

noun

United States of America

abbreviation

Abbreviation of アメリカ合衆国. Used in contexts where the country is clearly understood.

Kanji

合fit, suit, join
衆masses, great numbers, multitude
国country
州state, province

Related words

連れん邦ぽうN1sense 1
連邦 is the general term for any federation or commonwealth, while 合衆国 specifically denotes a union of states, most often referring to the USA.
アメリカ合がっ衆しゅう国こく sense 2
アメリカ合衆国 is the full official name of the United States, while 合衆国 is its common abbreviation used when the country is already clear from context.
米べい国こく
合衆国 literally means 'united states' and appears in the formal country name アメリカ合衆国, while 米国 is the short official abbreviation used especially in news headlines.

Word family

アメリカ合がっ衆しゅう国こく
United States of America

Written forms

合がっ衆しゅう国こく
Standard kanji spelling; used in the official name アメリカ合衆国.
合がっ州しゅう国こく
irregular kanji usage
Irregular kanji variant; 州 means 'state' and is sometimes used as a substitute, but this form is not standard.

Etymology

合衆国 is a Japanese coinage combining 合 (unite), 衆 (multitude/people), and 国 (country). It was created in the 19th century to translate 'United States' and reflects the idea of a nation formed by many people or states.