美利堅合眾國 / 美利坚合众国
Měilìjiān hézhòngguó
In Chinese, 'united states' is expressed as 美利堅合眾國 / 美利坚合众国 (Měilìjiān hézhòngguó). Wiktionary also lists 合眾國 / 合众国 (Hézhòngguó) and 美國 / 美国 (Měiguó).
Meaning: country in North America (name)
Ways to say it
| Chinese | Romanization (Wiktionary) |
|---|---|
| 美利堅合眾國 / 美利坚合众国 | Měilìjiān hézhòngguó |
| 合眾國 / 合众国 | Hézhòngguó |
| 美國 / 美国 | Měiguó |
The terms refer to the country in North America. The common short form 美國 / 美国 is used to identify the country, while adding the suffix 人 (rén, person) to it creates the word for an American person.
What does it mean word for word?
The name 美國 / 美国 literally means 'Beautiful Country' (美: beautiful, 國: country), which is a phonetic approximation of the first syllable of 'America'. The character 国 means country.
Which one should you use?
The full form 美利堅合眾國 / 美利坚合众国 is the most formal and official way to say United States in Chinese, whereas 美國 / 美国 is a formal way to refer to the United States.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Cantonese, the United States is referred to as 美國.
How do you pronounce it?
Měilìjiān hézhòngguó
Did you know?
- The term 合眾國 may have been coined by Elijah Coleman Bridgman, an American missionary, before 1844.
- The term 合眾國 / 合众国 uses the character 眾 / 众, which refers to a large group of people, to mirror the concept of a 'united' populace.
Examples in context
- 美国是一个多元文化的国家。The United States is a multicultural country.
- 我朋友在美工作了两年。My friend has been working in the United States for two years.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “united states” translations, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries 合眾國, 美利堅合眾國, 美國, CC BY-SA 4.0.
