国語
こくご · kokugo · JLPT N3 · noun
language
🗾📚 国語 = country (国) + language (語): the nation's own tongue
国 (koku) means country and 語 (go) means language, as in 英語 (eigo, English). In Japanese schools, 国語 is the name of the Japanese-language class, the subject that teaches the country's own language.
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.