邻国
lín guó · HSK 7
bordering country
🏘️ 邻 neighbor + 国 country = the country next door
邻 means neighbor and 国 means country, so 邻国 is literally a neighbor-country: a state that shares a border with yours. The same 邻 shows up in 邻居 (neighbor) and 邻近 (nearby).
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.