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They both mean country don't they? I saw this phrase: 国家公安局部長。 When I looked
it up 国家, the definition was just "country". So I'm not understanding the
nuance between the two words.
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2012-09-10T01:49:39.437
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2012-09-10T06:26:16.640
2012-09-10T03:34:29.183
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question
definitions
What's the difference between 国家 and 国?
I am sure someone could give a more comprehensive answer but it is usually the
same as the difference between nation/state and country in English eg

> 国々 ｜countries
>
> 国家 ｜nation
>
> 国家的 ｜national
>
> 警察国家｜a police state
>
> 福祉国家｜a welfare state
>
> 国家の政策｜national policy

国 also has a few "domestic" uses, which I imagine go back to the time when
people in Japan rarely travelled overseas and they might refer to areas of
Japan as "countries" (this is somewhat paralleled in other "nations" such as
the UK where people in regions such as Cornwall might see themselves apart
from the rest of the nation, even though they are not referred to as countries
such as Scotland or Wales) hence in Japanese :

> 国の習慣 = local customs
>
> 国へ帰る : can mean ”go back to one's birthplace/ふるさと [古里／故郷]”

And of course there are parts of Japan with 国 in the name such as 中国 ＆ 四国
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2012-09-10T02:06:46.547
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