VOA名师答疑2023 country 和 nation 的区别

Hello!

大家好!

This week on Ask a Teacher, we will answer a question about the difference between “nation” and “country.”

本周《名师答疑》，我们回答关于nation和country有什么区别的问题。

Hi, VOA Learning¹ English, could you please help and explain what the difference is in usage² between “nation” and “country?”

你好，美国之音英语学习栏目，你能帮忙解释一下nation和country在用法上有什么不同吗？

Thanks and regards, Siyang Hao.

谢谢并向你问好，郝思阳。

Hello Siyang!

思阳，你好！

This is a great question.

这是一个很好的问题。

Often these words are used as synonyms³, but there are differences.

这两个词通常被用作同义词，但也有一些区别。

Let’s look at how we use these words and find some examples to help us understand.

让我们来看看如何使用这两个单词，并找出一些例句来帮助我们理解。

Let’s start with “country.”

首先看country吧。

A “country” is an organized political unit.

“国家”是一个有组织的政治单位。

We often describe “countries” as “states,” especially when talking about politics.

我们经常把“国家”描述为states，尤其是在谈论政治的时候。

Joshua Keating, a former editor for the website Foreign Policy says there are several things that are needed to become a country.

《外交政策》网站前编辑约书亚·基廷表示，要想成为一个国家，需要具备几个条件。

A country needs territory or land.

国家需要领土或土地。

Next, people living there must live there permanently⁴.

其次，居住在那里的人必须永久居住在那里。

Then the international community must recognize the boundaries or borders of the country.

然后，国际社会必须承认该国的边界。

Next, the country must have full sovereignty or the freedom of rule and be recognized by other countries.

而且，国家必须拥有完全的主权或统治自由，并得到其他国家的承认。

Finally, a country is ruled by a government or political body.

最后，国家由政府或政治机构统治。

Here are some examples of how to use “country” in a sentence.

下面是一些使用country的例子。

There are no countries in Antarctica, but some countries like Chile and New Zealand have claimed areas of it.

南极洲没有国家，但智利和新西兰等一些国家声称对南极洲的某些区域拥有主权。

I have been to several countries in Europe including Romania, Czechia, Estonia and Finland.

我去过欧洲的几个国家，包括罗马尼亚、捷克、爱沙尼亚和芬兰。

Even though The United States is made up of smaller units called “states,” they are not sovereign⁵ countries and are not internationally recognized as such.

尽管美国是由被称为states（州）的较小单位组成的，但这些州不是主权国家，也没有得到国际公认。

California is a state and has the world’s 4th largest economy, but it is not a country.

加利福尼亚州是一个州，拥有世界第四大的经济体量，但它不是一个国家。

We often use “country” and “state” as synonyms, especially to differentiate⁶ the other meaning of “country” as a place outside of a city that has fields, farmland, trees, or villages.

我们经常把country和state用作同义词，特别是为了区分country的另一个意思，即城市以外有野地、农田、树木或村庄的地方。

Regina enjoys going to the country on the weekends to visit her family’s farm in West Virginia.

雷吉娜喜欢在周末去乡下，去她家在西弗吉尼亚州的农场。

And now let’s move onto “nation.”

现在让我们看nation。

“Nation” has two different meanings.

它有两种不同的意思。

Firstly, a “nation” can describe the same thing as the word “country” or “state.”

首先，nation可以描述与country或state相同的事物。

Our VOA Word Book describes a “nation” as a “country” together with its political and social systems.

美国之音词汇手册将nation描述为“国家”及其政治和社会制度。

Let’s look at an example.

让我们来看一个例子。

There are 193 nations that make up the international organization called The United Nations.

联合国是一个由193个国家组成的国际组织。

The nation of Argentina recently won the FIFA World Cup.

阿根廷最近赢得了国际足联世界杯。

“Nation” also has another meaning.

nation还有另一个意思。

It is the people of an area who are connected by a common culture or identity⁷.

它是一个地区由共同的文化或身份联系起来的人民。

Sometimes a “country” or “state” is represented by one “nation,” called a “nation-state.”

有时一个“国家”由一个“民族”代表，这个国家就被称为"民族国家"。

Japan, Finland, and even the United States are considered nation-states.

日本、芬兰甚至美国都被认为是民族国家。

Not all “nations” of people have their own “country” or border of their land that is recognized internationally.

并非所有“民族”的人民都有自己的“国家”或国际公认的国土边界。

Examples of “nations” of people without their own “country” include: The Kurdish people and native or indigenous⁸ people like Native Americans.

没有自己“国家”的“民族”的例子包括：库尔德人和美洲原住民等土著人。

The Kurdish nation lives throughout a region⁹ called Kurdistan, which is spread throughout five countries.

库尔德民族生活在一个名为库尔德斯坦的地区，该地区分布在五个国家境内。

Kurds have a common language and culture.

库尔德人有共同的语言和文化。

First Nations people are an indigenous nation group in Canada.

第一民族是加拿大的一个土著民族群体。

Please let us know if these explanations and examples have helped you!

请让我们知道这些解释和例子是否对你有帮助！

And that’s Ask a Teacher.

以上就是本期《名师答疑》。

I’m Faith Pirlo.

我是费思·皮尔洛。

1 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

2 usage   

n.惯用法，使用，用法

参考例句：

• I am clear about the usage of this word at last.这个词的用法我算是弄明白了。
• The usage is now firmly established.这种用法现已得到确认。

3 synonyms   

同义词( synonym的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• If you want to grasp English, you must carefully discriminate synonyms. 如果你想掌握好英语，你必须仔细区分同义词。
• Study the idioms and synonyms l wrote down before your test. 学考试前我给你写的习惯用语和同义字。

4 permanently   

adv.永恒地，永久地，固定不变地

参考例句：

• The accident left him permanently scarred.那次事故给他留下了永久的伤疤。
• The ship is now permanently moored on the Thames in London.该船现在永久地停泊在伦敦泰晤士河边。

5 sovereign   

n.元首，金镑；adj.具有主权的，至高无上的，极好的，完全的

参考例句：

• For a brief time Texas was a sovereign nation.得克萨斯一度是个主权独立的国家。
• The Queen has sovereign power.女王握有统治权。

6 differentiate   

vi.(between)区分；vt.区别；使不同

参考例句：

• You can differentiate between the houses by the shape of their chimneys.你可以凭借烟囱形状的不同来区分这两幢房子。
• He never learned to differentiate between good and evil.他从未学会分辨善恶。

7 identity   

n.身份，本体，特征；同一(性)，一致

参考例句：

• He never revealed his identity.他从未暴露过自己的身份。
• He showed his identity card and went in.他把工作证亮了一下就进去了。

8 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

9 region   

n.地区，地带，区域；范围，幅度

参考例句：

• The students went to study the geology of that region.学生们去研究那个地区的地质情况。
• It is unusual to see snow in this region.这个地区难得见到雪。