国歌

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 国歌, read こっか, means a country's national anthem.
• Basic usage: Use it for an anthem played at a ceremony or for comparing different countries' anthems.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• Same sound, different word
  • 国歌 is a country's anthem, while 国家 is the country or state itself. Both are read こっか, so distinguish them by their characters and context.
• Singing and playing
  • The example's 国歌が演奏された means the anthem was performed. Being an anthem does not mean it was necessarily sung rather than played.