躬 (gōng): (literary) body (of a human, esp. the torso), (bound form) to bow, (literary) oneself, personally
躬 (gōng) is a Chinese character meaning “(literary) body (of a human, esp. the torso).” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 身 (structural) and 弓 (structural). It ranks #2525 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 躬 to bow 弓 one's body 身; 弓 also provides the pronunciation. Its radical form 身 (body) appears in many related characters such as 身 (shēn, body), 躺 (tǎng, to recline), 躲 (duǒ, to hide).
Definitions
- (literary) body (of a human, esp. the torso)
- (bound form) to bow
- (literary) oneself
- personally
Etymology & Origin
ideographicTo bow 弓 one's body 身; 弓 also provides the pronunciation
Decomposition: ⿰身弓 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 躬 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 鞠躬 | jū gōng | to bow |
| 鞠躬尽瘁 | jū gōng jìn cuì | to bend to a task and spare no effort (idiom) |
| 事必躬亲 | shì bì gōng qīn | to attend to everything personally |
| 躬身 | gōng shēn | to bow |
| 反躬自问 | fǎn gōng zì wèn | introspection |
| 鞠躬尽瘁，死而后已 | jū gōng jìn cuì , sǐ ér hòu yǐ | to bend to a task and spare no effort unto one's dying day (idiom) |
| 打躬作揖 | dǎ gōng zuò yī | to bow respectfully with clasped hands |
| 躬行 | gōng xíng | to personally undertake or manage |
| 躬亲 | gōng qīn | to attend to personally |
| 鞠躬尽力 | jū gōng jìn lì | to bend to a task and spare no effort (idiom) |
| 卑躬屈节 | bēi gōng qū jié | to bow and scrape |
| 圣躬 | shèng gōng | the Emperor's body |
| 卑躬屈膝 | bēi gōng qū xī | to bow and bend the knee (idiom) |
| 躬履 | gōng lǚ | to carry out a task personally |
| 躬诣 | gōng yì | to call (at sb's home) personally |
躬 appears in 15 compound words: 33 as the first character, 13 as the last, and 53 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 躬 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
Example Sentences
了解躬字的来源，有助于理解中国文化。
le xiè gōng zì de lái yuán , yǒu zhù yú lǐ xiè zhōng guó wén huā .
Understanding the origin of the character "躬" helps to comprehend Chinese culture.
【“十五五”我们躬身加油干】以“智能轧制”突破极限
shí wǔ wǔ wǒ men gōng shēn jiā yóu gān yǐ zhì néng 轧 zhì tū pò jí xiàn
...店员工提醒孩子勿玩旋转门 熊家长报警逼鞠躬道歉
. . . diàn yuán gōng tí xǐng hái zǐ wù wán xuán zhuǎn mén xióng jiā cháng bào jǐng bī jū gōng dào qiàn
红茶巴士4度鞠躬灭火!道歉全文一次看
hóng chá bā shì 4 dù jū gōng miè huǒ ! dào qiàn quán wén yī cì kàn
Black Tea Bus Bows Four Times to Put Out the Fire! Read the Full Apology Here
...宫会特朗普夸张表现褒贬不一 网民:为何卑躬屈膝地向对方低头
. . . gōng huì tè lǎng pǔ kuā zhāng biǎo xiàn bāo biǎn bù yī wǎng mín : wéi hé bēi gōng qū xī dì xiàng duì fāng dī tóu
...Reactions to Gong's meeting with Trump are mixed; netizens ask: Why is he kowtowing to him?
高市早苗白宫会特朗普卑躬屈膝态度遭狠批 日网民斥:夸张表情让我感...
gāo shì zǎo miáo bái gōng huì tè lǎng pǔ bēi gōng qū xī tài dù zāo hěn pī rì wǎng mín chì : kuā zhāng biǎo qíng ràng wǒ gǎn . . .
Sanae Takaichi faces harsh criticism for her obsequious attitude during meeting with Trump at the White House; Japanese netizens say: "Her exaggerated expressions make me feel..."
没有人向他恭敬地鞠躬。
Méiyǒu rén xiàng tā gōngjìng de jūgōng.
No one respectfully bowed towards him.
在日本，遇到人鞠躬是有礼貌的表现。
Zài Rìběn, yùdào rén jūgōng shì yǒulǐmào de biǎoxiàn.
In Japan, it is polite to bow when one meets someone.
男孩向我鞠了个躬。
Nánhái xiàng wǒ jū le gè gōng.
The boy bowed to me.
Character Family
身 Radical Family — Characters sharing the body radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 躬 (gōng) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 躬 have?
What is the radical of 躬?
What are the components of 躬?
What are common words containing 躬?
What characters sound the same as 躬 (gōng)?
Is 躬 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 躬 with real-time feedback
Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.