Definition

1. Verb:
   • To found a state; to build a nation: The act of establishing a new, independent country or state, often involving the creation of its fundamental political and social structures. This term carries a formal and historical weight.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Những vị anh hùng đã có công kiến quốc. (The heroes who had the merit of founding the state.)
  • Công cuộc kiến quốc đòi hỏi sự hy sinh và tầm nhìn xa. (The task of nation-building requires sacrifice and foresight.)

Advanced Usage

• "kiến quốc công thần": meritorious officials who contributed to the founding of the state; founding fathers.
  • Ông được tôn vinh là một vị kiến quốc công thần. (He is honored as a meritorious official who contributed to the founding of the state.)

Variants and Related Words

• Dựng nước (verb): A more common and general synonym meaning "to build/establish a country." While kiến quốc is more formal and often used in historical contexts, dựng nước is widely used in both historical and modern contexts.

  • Truyền thuyết kể về thời kỳ các vua Hùng dựng nước. (Legends tell of the period when the Hung Kings built the nation.)

• Lập quốc (verb): Another formal synonym meaning "to establish/found a nation."

  • Ngày lập quốc là một ngày lễ quan trọng. (National Foundation Day is an important holiday.)

Synonyms

• Dựng nước: to build a country.
• Lập quốc: to establish a nation.
• Khai quốc (archaic/literary): to open/inaugurate a country.

Notes on Usage

• kiến quốc is a formal, literary, and historically significant term. It is most commonly used when referring to the foundational period of a nation, especially in historical narratives or when honoring national founders. It is less common in everyday conversation about modern state-building projects.

1. Found a state
   • Những vị kiến quốc anh hùng
     A nation's heroic founding fathers