The Meaning of kokumin [国民] In Japanese

国民
こくみん
Romaji: kokumin N5

What does 国民 mean?

Translation and Meaning

nation, the people, citizens

Definition

What does 国民 mean? It designates the people of a country—the citizenry or national population considered as a social group within a nation. In Japanese usage, 国民 emphasizes the collective rather than individual identities and is often used in political, legal, and public-context discourse.

Type

Noun (名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • citizenry of a nation; romaji kokumin
  • national identity and belonging; romaji kokumin
  • in official or public discourse it refers to rights, duties, and civic responsibilities of the populace; romaji kokumin

Etymology

国 (koku) + 民 (min) form the Sino-Japanese compound read in on’yomi as kokumin; this phonetic pattern is typical for compounds that pair a state-related kanji with a noun for people.

Origin

Meiji era onward, as Japan modernized and adopted centralized nationhood, 国民 came to denote the body of citizens and their political status in law and policy.

Composition

  • 国 — country, nation; used in compounds about the state
  • 民 — people, populace; used in words about the social group or commoners
  • 国民 — together denote the people of a nation

Usage

Used in formal and semi-formal contexts such as government documents, constitutions, academic writing, and media commentaries. In everyday speech, alternatives like 市民 or みんな are more common; 国民 remains the formal, collective term for the nation’s people.
💡 Tips
Visualize two cards: a barrier representing a country and a crowd inside it; when you read kokumin, you are seeing the country plus its people—the nation as a collective.

Variations

  • 市民 — meaning citizen or urban resident; romaji shimin
  • 人民 — political or historic term for the people; romaji jinmin
  • 国民全体 — the entire nation; romaji kokumin zentai

Example Phrases

  • 国民は政府の説明をニュースで毎日じっくり聞く。
    Kokumin wa seifu no setsumei o nyusu de mainichi jikkuri kiku.
    Citizens listen carefully to the government’s explanation on the news every day.
    Lista:
    • 国民は (kokumin wa) – the citizens
    • 政府の説明を (seifu no setsumei o) – the government’s explanation
    • ニュースで (nyusu de) – on the news
    • 毎日じっくり (mainichi jikkuri) – every day carefully
    • 聞く (kiku) – listen
    Here the noun 「国民」 functions as the topic, marked by は, referring to the citizens as a group.
国民