公 (gōng): public, collectively owned, common
公 (gōng) is a Chinese character meaning “public.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 八 (structural) and 厶 (structural). It ranks #115 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 公 to divide 八 what is private 厶. Its radical form 八 (eight) appears in many related characters such as 八 (bā, eight), 六 (liù, six), 关 (guān, mountain pass).
Definitions
- public
- collectively owned
- common
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo divide 八 what is private 厶
Decomposition: ⿱八厶 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 公 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 公
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 公司noun | gōng sī | company | 1 |
| 办公室noun | bàn gōng shì | office | 3 |
| 公寓noun | gōng yù | apartment building | 5 |
| 公平adjective | gōng píng | fair | 5 |
| 公园noun | gōng yuán | park (for public recreation) | 3 |
| 公交车noun | gōng jiāo chē | public transport vehicle | 2 |
| 公主noun | gōng zhǔ | princess | 6 |
| 老公noun | lǎo gōng | (coll.) husband | 5 |
| 公开adjective/verb | gōng kāi | open | 6 |
| 公路noun | gōng lù | highway | 4 |
| 公众noun | gōng zhòng | public | 6 |
| 公共adjective | gōng gòng | public | 4 |
| 公民noun | gōng mín | citizen | 6 |
| 公正adjective | gōng zhèng | just | 6 |
| 公里measure | gōng lǐ | kilometer | 4 |
| 公布verb | gōng bù | variant of 公布[gong1 bu4] | 5 |
| 办公verb | bàn gōng | to handle official business (usu. in an office) | 4 |
| 公斤measure | gōng jīn | kilogram (kg) | 3 |
| 外公noun | wài gōng | (coll.) mother's father | 5 |
| 公告 | gōng gào | post | 6 |
| 公务员noun | gōng wù yuán | civil servant | 5 |
| 公认verb | gōng rèn | publicly known (to be) | 6 |
| 公益noun | gōng yì | public good | 6 |
| 公元noun | gōng yuán | CE (Common Era) | 6 |
| 公安noun | gōng ān | (Ministry of) Public Security | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 公车 | gōng chē | bus |
| 公爵 | gōng jué | duke |
| 公关 | gōng guān | public relations |
| 公交 | gōng jiāo | public transportation |
| 公道 | gōng dào | justice |
| 公立 | gōng lì | public (e.g. school, hospital) |
| 公鸡 | gōng jī | cock |
| 公款 | gōng kuǎn | public money |
公 appears in 100 compound words: 88 as the first character, 11 as the last, and 1 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 公 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (52)
self-restraint and devotion to public duties (idiom); selfless dedication; to serve the public interest wholeheartedly
for the common good and forgetting personal interests (idiom); to behave altruistically; selfless
Showing 12 of 52 idioms containing 公.
Example Sentences
这家公司成立于十年前，现在已经发展壮大了。
Zhè jiā gōngsī chénglì yú shí nián qián, xiànzài yǐjīng fāzhǎn zhuàngdà le.
This company was established ten years ago and has now grown and expanded.
洗面奶什么牌子好?聚焦公认好用的洗面奶年终榜TOP..
xǐ miàn nǎi shén má pái zǐ hǎo ? jù jiāo gōng rèn hǎo yòng de xǐ miàn nǎi nián zhōng bǎng T O P . .
What brand of facial cleanser is good? Focus on the year-end list of facial cleansers that are recognized as easy to use:
年初二全国高速公路流量快速回升,午后车流持续保持高..
nián chū èr quán guó gāo sù gōng lù liú liáng kuài sù huí shēng , wǔ hòu chē liú chí xù bǎo chí gāo . .
The second day of the year the national highway traffic quickly rebounded, the afternoon traffic continued to remain high....
...海警在南海投放不明物体被抓现行,监控画面公布
. . . hǎi jǐng zài nán hǎi tóu fàng bù míng wù tī bèi zhuā xiàn háng , jiān kòng huà miàn gōng bù
... Marine police caught dropping unidentified objects in the South China Sea, surveillance footage released.
...道最靓的一个第五名——米兰冬奥会山东选手公俐..
. . . dào zuì 靓 de yī gě dì wǔ míng mǐ lán dōng ào huì shān dōng xuǎn shǒu gōng 俐 . .
... The most beautiful one of the fifth place - Milan Winter Olympics Shandong Gong Li...
冬奥会|冬季两项男子4X7.5公里接力:法国队逆转..
dōng ào huì dōng jì liǎng xiàng nán zǐ . gōng lǐ jiē lì fǎ guó duì nì zhuǎn . .
Winter Olympics | Biathlon Men's 4x7.5km Relay: France Stages Comeback...
你为什么说要去公园散步？
Nǐ wèishénme shuō yào qù gōngyuán sànbù?
Why are you saying you want to walk in the park?
他在哪家公司工作？
Tā zài nǎ jiā gōngsī gōngzuò?
Where does he work?
公园里有动物园吗？
Gōngyuán lǐ yǒu dòngwùyuán ma?
Is there a zoo in the park?
他们不是公司员工吗？
Tāmen bù shì gōngsī yuángōng ma?
Are they not company employees?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 公 (gōng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 公 have?
What is the radical of 公?
What are the components of 公?
What are common words containing 公?
What characters sound the same as 公 (gōng)?
Is 公 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 公 with real-time feedback
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