Guo Jia 国家- Daily Mandarin Lesson

The Mandarin Chinese word for “country” or “nation” is ►guó jiā. This is made up of two characters: 國家. The first character 國 (guó) means "country,” or “state” and the second character 家 (jiā) means “home,” or “family.”

The single character 國 (guó) can be used when referring to countries, but guó jiā seems to emphasize that a country is also a homeland wher family is found.
Examples of Guo Jia
 
    ► Měiguó shì yī gè yán lùn zì yóu de guó jiā.
    美國是一個言論自由的國家｡
    美国是一个言论自由的国家｡
    The USA is a free country.

    ► Dōng nán yà guó jiā lián méng yǒu shí gè chéng yuán guó.
    東南亞國家聯盟有十個成員國｡
    东南亚国家联盟有十个成员国｡
    The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has ten member states.