The Meaning of kokudo [国土] In Japanese

国土
こくど
Romaji: kokudo N3

What does 国土 mean?

Translation and Meaning

territory, land, national territory

Definition

国土 means the geographic area that constitutes a country under its sovereignty; it refers to the land portion of a nation and its territorial extent.

Type

Noun (名詞)

Stroke Order

Meanings

  • the physical land area of a nation and its boundaries
  • the sovereign territory under a government’s jurisdiction
  • the homeland or national identity in geopolitical or cultural contexts

Etymology

国 + 土 forming a native compound read as kokudo; the components denote country and land, yielding the sense of the state’s geographic extent.

Composition

  • 国: country, nation; 土: earth, land; together they express the land that belongs to a country and forms its geographic extent

Usage

Used in formal contexts such as geography, law, policy analysis, and journalism; common in government documents and academic writing when discussing borders, sovereignty, or land resources; appears in phrases like 国土交通省 and discussions of national territory.
💡 Tips
Think of a map boundary drawn around the two kanji: the nation (国) holds the land (土) inside its borders.

Variations

  • territory, land — romaji: ryōdo
  • homeland, motherland — romaji: sokoku
  • land area under sovereignty — romaji: kokudo

Example Phrases

  • 国土を守るために町の防災訓練に参加した。
    Kokudo o mamoru tame ni machi no bousai kunren ni sanka shita.
    I joined the town’s disaster drill to protect the homeland.
    Lista:
    • 国土 (kokudo) – territory
    • を (wo) – object marker
    • 守る (mamoru) – to protect
    • ために (tame ni) – for the purpose of / in order to
    • 町の (machi no) – town’s
    • 防災訓練 (bousai kunren) – disaster drill
    • に (ni) – to / in
    • 参加した (sanka shita) – participated
    In this sentence, 「国土」 means homeland/territory; together with を marks the object of 守る, and ために expresses purpose (in order to).
国土