Countries in Chinese 国家

guójiā

Country in Chinese is 国家 (guó jiā).

Also searched for as: country names, country, china, america.

Which countries have you been to? 30 essential countries words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.

The word for country in Chinese is 国家 (guó jiā), and many country names end in 国 (guó), as in 中国 (Zhōng guó), literally 'middle country', and 英国 (Yīng guó) for the UK. Others, like 意大利 (Yì dà lì) and 澳大利亚 (Ào dà lì yà), are sound-based borrowings that echo the original names. Knowing these lets you say where you're from, where you've been and where you'd love to go next.

Usage tips

• To give a nationality, add 人 (rén): 我是英国人 (wǒ shì Yīng guó rén); for most languages, swap in 语 (yǔ), as in 法语 (Fǎ yǔ) or 日语 (Rì yǔ).
• Some long names are shortened in conversation: 沙特阿拉伯 (Shā tè Ā lā bó) is usually just 沙特 (Shā tè), and Australia is often called 澳洲 (Ào zhōu).
• Use 过 (guo) to talk about places you've been: 你去过哪些国家？ (nǐ qù guo nǎ xiē guó jiā?) 'which countries have you been to?'.

Common mistakes

• Stopping at 我是从英国 for 'I'm from the UK' → finish with 来的: 我是从英国来的 (wǒ shì cóng Yīng guó lái de), or say 我来自英国 (wǒ lái zì Yīng guó).
• Mixing up 澳大利亚 (Ào dà lì yà) Australia and 奥地利 (Ào dì lì) Austria, which sound similar → listen for the extra 亚 (yà) at the end of Australia.
• Putting the country last, as in English 'London, UK' → Chinese goes from largest to smallest: 英国伦敦 (Yīng guó Lún dūn).

Mini dialogue

1. A你去过几个国家？Nǐ qù guo jǐ ge guó jiā?How many countries have you been to?
2. B七八个吧。我去过日本、韩国，还有泰国。Qī bā ge ba. Wǒ qù guo Rì běn, Hán guó, hái yǒu Tài guó.Seven or eight, I think. I've been to Japan, South Korea and Thailand.
3. A你最喜欢哪个国家？Nǐ zuì xǐ huan nǎ ge guó jiā?Which one did you like best?
4. B泰国！泰国菜又酸又辣，太好吃了。你呢？Tài guó! Tài guó cài yòu suān yòu là, tài hǎo chī le. Nǐ ne?Thailand! Thai food is sour and spicy, it's delicious. What about you?
5. A我还没出过国，我想先去马来西亚。Wǒ hái méi chū guo guó, wǒ xiǎng xiān qù Mǎ lái xī yà.I've never been abroad. I'd like to go to Malaysia first.

Example sentences

• 你去过几个国家？How many countries have you been to?
• 我想去中国学汉语。I want to go to China to study Chinese.
• 英国经常下雨。It often rains in the UK.
• 她在美国读大学。She's at university in the United States.
• 法国的面包很好吃。French bread is delicious.
• 德国的汽车很有名。German cars are very famous.
• 夏天西班牙非常热。Spain is very hot in summer.
• 我在意大利吃了很多比萨。I ate loads of pizza in Italy.
• 春天去日本可以看樱花。In spring you can see cherry blossom in Japan.
• 我朋友是从韩国来的。My friend is from South Korea.
• 印度菜很辣。Indian food is very spicy.
• 我的同事来自巴基斯坦。My colleague is from Pakistan.
• 孟加拉国的首都是达卡。The capital of Bangladesh is Dhaka.
• 俄罗斯的冬天特别冷。Winter in Russia is extremely cold.
• 加拿大的风景很美。Canada's scenery is beautiful.
• 澳大利亚有很多袋鼠。There are lots of kangaroos in Australia.
• 巴西人很喜欢踢足球。Brazilians love playing football.
• 我想去墨西哥旅游。I'd like to go travelling in Mexico.
• 我们在埃及看了金字塔。We saw the pyramids in Egypt.
• 南非在非洲的最南边。South Africa is at the southern tip of Africa.
• 尼日利亚的人口很多。Nigeria has a large population.
• 土耳其的咖啡很有特色。Turkish coffee is very distinctive.
• 沙特阿拉伯的夏天非常热。Summers in Saudi Arabia are extremely hot.
• 她的奶奶是巴勒斯坦人。Her grandmother is Palestinian.
• 伊朗的地毯很有名。Iranian carpets are famous.
• 泰国菜又酸又辣。Thai food is sour and spicy.
• 我在越南喝了很多咖啡。I drank lots of coffee in Vietnam.
• 马来西亚一年四季都很热。Malaysia is hot all year round.
• 新加坡很干净。Singapore is very clean.
• 爱尔兰到处都是绿色。Ireland is green wherever you go.

Practise speaking

Ready to use these words? The Countries speaking island has 8 everyday questions about countries to prepare your own answers to.

Related topics

• Hotels 酒店
• Cities & places 城市
• Commuting 上下班
• In the street 街上
• Around town 城里的地方
• Time & schedules 时间
• Days, weeks & months 日期
• Directions 方向

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