跨国
kuàguó · HSK 7
transnational
🌍✈️ 跨 cross/straddle + 国 country = straddling countries = transnational
跨 means to step or straddle across, and 国 means country or nation. A company or deal that straddles across national borders is transnational or multinational.
跨 — foot 足 + 夸 (kuā, phonetic)
A semantic-phonetic compound. The foot radical 足 gives the meaning, since 跨 originally described stepping over or straddling something with the legs. The right side 夸 supplies the sound. The meaning later extended to 'span' or 'across,' as in crossing regions or eras.
国 — enclosure 囗 + jade 玉
国 is a simplified form of 國. The outer 囗 represents borders or an enclosed territory, while the inner 玉 (jade) suggests a treasured realm ruled by a sovereign. The traditional 國 used 或 inside, depicting a guarded region with a weapon, later simplified by replacing it with 玉.