德國 / 德国
Déguó
In Chinese, Germany is referred to as 德國 / 德国 (Déguó). If unsure, use 德國 / 德国. Wiktionary also lists 德意志 (Déyìzhì).
Meaning: country in Central Europe (name)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 德國 / 德国 | Déguó |
| 德意志 | Déyìzhì |
The standard name for the country is 德國 / 德国. To refer to a German person or Germans, you can add the suffix 人 (rén), meaning 'person', to the country name to form 德国人.
What does it mean word for word?
The character 德 (dé) serves a dual purpose: it is used as a phonetic loan for the first syllable of 'Germany' and also means 'virtue'.
Which one should you use?
In contrast, 德意志 is a more formal, transliterated name often used in official or historical contexts, such as when referring to full political titles.
Is it said differently in some regions?
The form 德國 uses the traditional character 國 and is standard in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau. The form 德国 uses the simplified character 国 and is standard in Mainland China and Singapore.
How do you pronounce it?
Déguó
Did you know?
- China often uses 'commendatory' characters to name countries, meaning they choose characters with positive meanings like 'beauty', 'flower' or 'virtue' to represent them.
- In Chinese, adding the character 國 to a phonetic sound is the standard way to turn a transliterated name into a 'country' noun.
- The name for France, 法國 / 法国, follows this same pattern of using a meaningful character, often interpreted as 'the law' or 'method'.
Examples in context
- 德意志联邦共和国建立于1949年。The Federal Republic of Germany was established in 1949.This sentence is useful for providing the historical context of the establishment of the Federal Republic of Germany using 德意志.Tatoeba #1186906 by dericteng, translation #1555177 by lutao
Sources
- Wiktionary, “germany” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 德國, 德意志, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
