1
the motherland
这里用定冠词 the 表示说话者心目中的祖国，常带有感情色彩。
The motherland is always in my heart.
祖国永远在我心中。
祖国
先理解核心含义，再看它在真实句子里的用法。
祖国
the country where you were born
The motherland is always in my heart.
祖国永远在我心中。
祖先所在的国家。
The country of one's ancestors.
出生的国家
the country where you were born
出生的国家。
The country of one's birth.
原籍国；来源国。
Country of origin.
After living abroad for ten years, she finally returned to her motherland.
在国外生活十年后，她终于回到了祖国。
Many soldiers were willing to die for their motherland.
许多士兵愿意为祖国献出生命。
He wrote a poem praising his motherland's beautiful mountains and rivers.
他写了一首诗赞美祖国美丽的山川。
这里用定冠词 the 表示说话者心目中的祖国，常带有感情色彩。
The motherland is always in my heart.
祖国永远在我心中。
one's 可根据主语换成 my, his, her 等物主代词。
She missed her motherland while studying abroad.
她在国外留学时想念自己的祖国。
Not this
I love motherland.
Use this
I love my motherland.
英语中 motherland 是可数名词，前面通常需要物主代词或冠词；汉语说“我爱祖国”可以不带限定词，所以容易漏掉。加上 my 表示“我的祖国”，句子才符合英语习惯。
Not this
My motherland is Shanghai.
Use this
My hometown is Shanghai.
motherland 指“祖国”，是整个国家；Shanghai 是一个城市，不能用 motherland 来表达。表示出生或成长的城市应该用 hometown。
Focus on the distinctions below. Other candidates are kept compact until a reliable usage note is available.
热爱祖国
Many citizens love their motherland deeply.
许多公民深爱他们的祖国。
为祖国服务
She chose to serve the motherland as a doctor.
她选择当医生为祖国服务。
回到祖国
After studying abroad, he returned to his motherland.
在国外学习后，他回到了祖国。
忠于祖国
The soldiers remained loyal to their motherland.
士兵们始终忠于他们的祖国。
祖国召唤
When the motherland calls, young people should answer.
当祖国召唤时，年轻人应当响应。
祖国，自己的国家（带感情色彩的正式说法）
After ten years abroad, he finally returned to the motherland.
在国外十年后，他终于回到了祖国。
为祖国效力；报效祖国
She decided to become a doctor and serve the motherland.
她决定成为一名医生，报效祖国。
祖国在召唤（指需要为祖国贡献力量）
When the motherland calls, they will not hesitate to answer.
当祖国召唤时，他们会毫不犹豫地响应。
祖国在召唤！
The famous Soviet World War II poster shows a woman raising her arm beside the words 'The Motherland Calls!'
著名的苏联二战海报上，一名妇女举起手臂，旁边写着“祖国在召唤！”
我和我的祖国，一刻也不能分割。
In the Chinese patriotic song 'My Motherland and Me', the first line is 'My motherland and I are never apart.'
在爱国歌曲《我和我的祖国》中，第一句是“我和我的祖国，一刻也不能分割”。
Use motherland naturally, then get feedback on meaning, tone, grammar, and phrasing.
Revisit a common error or keep this word in your review list.
把 mother（母亲）和 land（土地）拼在一起：母亲的土地，就是祖国。
语域：formal 常见场景：official speeches、patriotic writing、literary works motherland 通常用于正式或书面语境，带有庄重、爱国的感情色彩；日常口语中更常说 home country 或 homeland。使用频率可能因国家和地区而异，但这并不改变其偏正式的语体倾向。
All these words end with the /ænd/ or /lænd/ sound, matching the 'land' in 'motherland'. Watch out for 'island' /ˈaɪ.lənd/ and 'England' /ˈɪŋ.ɡlənd/: although they are spelled with 'land', they end with the unstressed /lənd/ sound, not /lænd/.
Dictionary facts from DICTIONARY_API_DEV, ECDICT, WIKTIONARY.