Definition

Noun: * Native country; homeland; old country: Refers to one's country of origin, homeland, or ancestral land, often with a sense of nostalgia or separation from it. It emphasizes the emotional and historical connection to a land one has left or been away from for a long time.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Tấc lòng cố quốc tha hương. (A heart longing for the homeland while in a foreign land.)
  • Ông ấy luôn hướng về cố quốc. (He always turns his thoughts toward his native country.)
  • Những kỷ niệm về cố quốc vẫn sống mãi trong lòng ông. (Memories of the homeland still live forever in his heart.)

Advanced Usage

• Literary and poetic usage: "Cố quốc" is primarily used in literary, poetic, or formal contexts to evoke deep sentiment, nostalgia, or patriotism. It is less common in everyday spoken Vietnamese.
  • Bao năm xa cách, nỗi nhớ cố quốc không nguôi. (After years of separation, the longing for the homeland never ceases.)

Variants and Related Words

• Tổ quốc (noun): Fatherland; motherland. A more common and contemporary term for one's country, often with a strong patriotic connotation.
• Quê hương (noun): Hometown; homeland. A general term for one's native place or region, which can be used in both formal and informal contexts.
• Cố hương (noun): Old hometown; native village. Specifically refers to one's old hometown or native village, similar in nostalgic tone to "cố quốc" but on a smaller, more local scale.

Synonyms

• Quê cha đất tổ: Land of one's ancestors. An idiom meaning the ancestral land.
• Nơi chôn nhau cắt rốn: The place where one's umbilical cord was buried. An idiom meaning one's birthplace.

Related Idioms

• Cố quốc tha hương: (Native country, foreign land). A classical literary phrase describing the state of being away from one's homeland, living in a foreign land, often filled with longing.
  • Tâm trạng cố quốc tha hương thường xuất hiện trong thơ cổ. (The sentiment of longing for the homeland while in exile often appears in classical poetry.)

noun

1. Native country