I know there are 音読み and 訓読み.
In case of 国, but has 2 way to pronounce: 国{くに} vs 国{こく}.
When to use which?
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1You are going to need to give more context to make the question genuinely answerable but the basic answer is that the word is pronounced コク or in sino-Japanese compounds. When standing alone, it is generally くに. Here's a list of some common words– virmaiorCommented Dec 2, 2015 at 8:48
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very good question.– oldergodCommented Dec 2, 2015 at 9:13
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Do you plan to ask this question for every kanji? What did you learn from japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/28371 ?– oalsCommented Dec 2, 2015 at 14:18
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Do you know that 音読み is the copy of old Chinese pronunciation, and 訓読み is the translation into original Japanese. Generally, only either 訓読み or 音読み is used in a word. Please clarify what is your question with some examples or some sources.– ToshihikoCommented Dec 2, 2015 at 14:37
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1@EricWang Paste your kanji into wwwjdic's kanji lookup for this sort of thing. Pasting 国 there returns [音] コク [訓] くに– oalsCommented Dec 2, 2015 at 16:29
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1 Answer
When 国 is used as a part of idiom like 米国, it's pronounced こく like 米国(べいこく). When it's used alone, it's pronounced くに.
answered Dec 2, 2015 at 9:43
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