A nation or country — a political unit with territory, population, and government.
日本という国は四つの大きな島で成り立っている。
The country called Japan consists of four large islands.
彼は十年間、別の国で働いていた。
He worked in another country for ten years.
国の政策は経済や教育に大きな影響を与える。
A country's policies have a big impact on the economy and education.
A region or area; used to refer to a particular part or district (e.g., in names like '西国').
西国では方言が色濃く残っている町が多い。
In the western regions there are many towns where dialects remain strong.
北の国は冬が長くて雪が多い。
The northern region has long winters and a lot of snow.
古文書には地域名として『○○国』と記されていることがある。
Old documents sometimes record place names as '○○ no kuni' (○○ country/region).
The national or central government (used in expressions like 'the government did X').
国は新しい教育改革の方針を発表した。
The government announced a new education reform policy.
その事業は国の補助を受けている。
That project receives subsidies from the national government.
国の決定で入国審査の基準が変わった。
The national government's decision changed the immigration screening criteria.
One's homeland or hometown; the country one considers home.
海外生活が長くなると、自分の国が懐かしくなる。
After living abroad a long time, one begins to miss their homeland.
事故で家族と離れ、国に戻ることにした。
After being separated from his family in an accident, he decided to return to his home country.
遠い国へ旅をして、多くのことを学んだ。
I traveled to a distant country and learned many things.
A historical term for a province in ancient Japan (as in the Ritsuryō system), e.g. 'Izumo-no-kuni'.
出雲國は古代から信仰の中心とされてきた。
Izumo Province has been considered a religious center since ancient times.
律令制では国・郡・里の順に行政が分けられていた。
Under the Ritsuryō system, administration was divided into kuni (provinces), gun (districts), and ri (villages).
An archaic or literary use meaning land or the earth (found in classical texts).
万葉集では『国』が大地や国土の意味で用いられることがある。
In the Manyoshu, 'kuni' is sometimes used to mean land or the nation's territory.