公
Meanings
CC-CEDICT
- 1.public
- 2.collectively owned
- 3.common
- 4.international (e.g. high seas, metric system, calendar)
- 5.make public
- 6.fair
- 7.just
- 8.Duke, highest of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔ děng jué wèi]
- 9.honorable (gentlemen)
- 10.father-in-law
- 11.male (animal)
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Wiktionary
- 1.public; communal
- 2.fair; equitable
- 3.to make public; to announce
- 4.international; universal
- 5.duke
- 6.male
- 7.old man or a man of high status
- 8.grandfather
- 9.father-in-law (husband's father)
- 10.heads (side of a coin)
- 11.A noun suffix
- 12.a surname
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Etymology
The traditional interpretation as given by Han Feizi is that 公 is a compound of 八 (= 背 (“to deviate; opposite”)) and 厶 (original form of 私 (“individual; private”)), i.e. the opposite of “private” — “public”. This theory is supported by Sun Yirang and Qiang Kaiyun, despite the somewhat different shape of the bottom component from 厶. This is disputed in modern times by Gao Hongjin, who thinks that the 八 on top stands for 分 (“to divide; to distribute”) and the bottom round component 口 symbolises a generic object. 公 thus represents “equally dividing resources so that they are communal”. Another theory put forth by Zhu Fangpu is that 公 is a pictogram (象形), being the original form of 瓮 (OC *qloːŋs, “a wide-mouthed round-bottomed jar”), and later borrowed for the meanings of “public” and “male of older generation or higher rank”. ; "fair; impartial; public" ; "male of older generation or higher rank; duke; male (of animals)" : STEDT provisionally sets up Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kaŋ (“father; grandfather; honorific”), also comparing it to 翁; compare Drung kangkang (“grandpa”), vkang (“(my/our) grandfather”), Burmese ခင် (hkang), as in မိခင် (mi.hkang, “mother”), ဖခင် (hpa.hkang, “father”). Alternatively, STEDT also compares it with Proto-Sino-Tibetan *gaŋ (“penis; male”), whence 雄 (OC *ɡʷɯŋ, “male”), but considers it less probable. : Schuessler (2007) suggests a Mon-Khmer origin; compare Khmer ឡូញ (louñ, “title of an unidentified rank or function”) and Old Khmer khloñ (“head, chief”) (whence ខ្លោង (khlaong)). Compare also Thai ลุง (lung), from Proto-Tai *luŋᴬ (“parent's older brother”), which may also be from Mon-Khmer. Tibetan ཁོང (khong) ~ གོང (gong, “final syllable in dignitaries' name”) may be borrowed from Chinese.
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Stroke order
Components
Components from cjk-decomp · MIT
Example sentences
我去公園。
I'm going to the park.
公事公辦。
It's business.
公車來了。
The bus has arrived.
他下了公車。
He got off the bus.
公車票價多少？
How much is the bus fare?
我站著等公車。
I stood waiting for a bus.
Sentences from Tatoeba · CC-BY 2.0 FR
More examples & usage (AI)
Synonyms
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA
Derived terms
Wiktionary · CC BY-SA