公gōng

公

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Simplified · Today

简体

Simplified Chinese

Simplified form (簡體). 公 (gōng, "public") remains unchanged from traditional — composed of the radical 八 ("eight") atop 厶 ("private"), visually suggesting the division of private holdings into shared parts. It appears as a component in 翁 (elderly man), 颂 (praise), 松 (pine tree) and 讼 (lawsuit).

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Shuowen

公. The oracle bone 公 is composed of a circle or rounded enclosure with a mouth symbol inside, visually depicting something open to all. The outer ring represents a communal space, while the inner mouth signifies speech or distribution within that space, and consequently the character came to mean 'public' or 'official', with the written form retaining the enclosure and mouth to convey the idea of shared access.

Pinyin

gōng· HSK 1

公gōng

Character evolution

Shuowen

Pinyin