国際
こくさい · kokusai · JLPT N4 · na-adj
international
🌍 国際 = country + boundary/between: what happens between countries
国 (koku) means country; 際 (sai) means edge, border or the space where things meet. So 国際 is literally the meeting-point between countries. It mirrors the English word exactly: inter (between) + national.
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.