各国

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 各国 is a noun read かっこく, meaning each country or various countries considered together.
• Basic usage: Use 各国の伝統的な衣装 for traditional clothing associated with various countries and 各国から集まる for gathering from them.
  • 会場には各国の伝統的な衣装が展示されています。 says that traditional clothing from various countries is displayed at the venue; 各国から集まった学生が自国の料理を紹介しました。 describes students from many countries introducing food from their own homelands.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• 各国の衣装
  • の links the traditional clothing to the countries it represents.
• 各国から
  • から marks the range of countries from which the students came.
• 各国 and 自国
  • 各国 refers to the countries as a group, while 自国 refers to each student's own country.