国
くに · kuni · JLPT N5 · noun
state
🗾 国 = a jewel (玉) kept inside a border (囗)
The outer box 囗 is a boundary wall; inside sits 玉, jade or treasure. A country is the treasure a border protects. For the sound: kuni starts like the coo of coo-knee, and your home country is where your knees first learned to walk.
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.