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Definition 2024
公
公
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Translingual
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Han character
公 (radical 12 八+2, 4 strokes, cangjie input 金戈 (CI), four-corner 80732, composition ⿱八厶)
References
- KangXi: page 126, character 28
- Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1452
- Dae Jaweon: page 277, character 1
- Hanyu Da Zidian: volume 1, page 242, character 1
- Unihan data for U+516C
Chinese
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simp. and trad. |
公 | |
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Glyph origin
| Historical forms of the character 公
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References:
Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation),
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| Characters in the same phonetic series (公) (Zhengzhang, 2003) | |
|---|---|
| Old Chinese | |
| 慃 | *qroːŋʔ |
| 袞 | *kluːnʔ |
| 衮 | *kluːnʔ |
| 蔉 | *kluːnʔ |
| 滚 | *kluːnʔ |
| 忩 | *sʰloːŋ |
| 鬆 | *sqʰloːŋs, *sqʰluːŋ, *skʰloŋ, *sqʰloŋ |
| 凇 | *sqʰloːŋs, *sqʰloŋ, *sɢloŋ |
| 公 | *kloːŋ |
| 蚣 | *kloːŋ, *kljoŋ |
| 翁 | *qloːŋ |
| 螉 | *qloːŋ |
| 蓊 | *qloːŋ, *qloːŋʔ |
| 嗡 | *qloːŋ |
| 滃 | *qloːŋʔ |
| 暡 | *qloːŋʔ |
| 勜 | *qloːŋʔ |
| 塕 | *qloːŋʔ |
| 瓮 | *qloːŋs |
| 崧 | *sqʰluŋ |
| 菘 | *sqʰluŋ |
| 硹 | *sqʰluŋ |
| 淞 | *sqʰloŋ, *sɢloŋ |
| 蜙 | *sqʰloŋ |
| 倯 | *sqʰloŋ |
| 松 | *sɢloŋ |
| 訟 | *sɢloŋ, *sɢloŋs |
| 頌 | *sɢloŋs, *loŋ |
| 忪 | *kljoŋ |
| 彸 | *kljoŋ |
| 衳 | *kljoŋ |
| 伀 | *kljoŋ |
| 妐 | *kljoŋ |
| 炂 | *kljoŋ |
| 鈆 | *kljoŋ, *lon |
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 “individual”; public. This theory is supported by Sun Yirang and Qiang Kaiyun, despite the somewhat different shape of the top 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 of 口 symbolises the general 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 meaning of “public”.
Pronunciation
- Mandarin
- Cantonese (Jyutping): gung1
- Hakka (Sixian, PFS): kûng
- Min Dong (BUC): gŭng
- Min Nan (POJ): kang / kong
- Wu (Wiktionary): kon (T1)
- Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)+
- Pinyin:
- Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄥ
- Wade-Giles: kung1
- Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gong
- IPA (key): /kʊŋ⁵⁵/
- (Standard Chinese, Beijing)+
- Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
- Jyutping: gung1
- Yale: gūng
- Cantonese Pinyin: gung1
- IPA (key): /kʊŋ⁵⁵/
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)+
- Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
- Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kûng
- Hakka Romanization System: gung´
- Hagfa Pinyim: gung1
- IPA: /kuŋ²⁴/
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
- Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
- Bàng-uâ-cê: gŭng
- IPA (key): /kuŋ⁵⁵/
- (Fuzhou)
- Min Nan
- Wu
- (Shanghainese)
- Wiktionary: kon (T1)
- IPA (key): /kʊŋ⁵³/
- (Shanghainese)
- Dialectal data▼
| Variety | Location | 公 |
|---|---|---|
| Mandarin | Beijing | /kuŋ⁵⁵/ |
| Harbin | /kuŋ⁴⁴/ | |
| Tianjin | /kuŋ²¹/ | |
| Jinan | /kuŋ²¹³/ | |
| Qingdao | /kəŋ²¹³/ | |
| Zhengzhou | /kuŋ²⁴/ | |
| Xi'an | /kuŋ²¹/ | |
| Xining | /kuə̃⁴⁴/ | |
| Yinchuan | /kuŋ⁴⁴/ | |
| Lanzhou | /kũn³¹/ | |
| Ürümqi | /kuŋ⁴⁴/ | |
| Wuhan | /koŋ⁵⁵/ | |
| Chengdu | /koŋ⁵⁵/ | |
| Guiyang | /koŋ⁵⁵/ | |
| Kunming | /koŋ/ | |
| Nanjing | /koŋ³¹/ | |
| Hefei | /kəŋ²¹/ | |
| Jin | Taiyuan | /kuəŋ¹¹/ |
| Pingyao | /kuŋ¹³/ | |
| Hohhot | /kũŋ³¹/ | |
| Wu | Shanghai | /koŋ⁵³/ |
| Suzhou | /koŋ⁵⁵/ | |
| Hangzhou | /koŋ³³/ | |
| Wenzhou | /koŋ³³/ | |
| Hui | Shexian | /kuʌ̃³¹/ |
| Tunxi | /kan¹¹/ | |
| Xiang | Changsha | /koŋ³³/ |
| Xiangtan | /kən³³/ | |
| Gan | Nanchang | /kuŋ⁴²/ |
| Hakka | Meixian | /kuŋ⁴⁴/ |
| Taoyuan | /kuŋ²⁴/ | |
| Cantonese | Guangzhou | /koŋ⁵³/ |
| Nanning | /kuŋ⁵⁵/ | |
| Hong Kong | /kuŋ⁵⁵/ | |
| Min | Xiamen (Min Nan) |
/kiɔŋ⁵⁵/ /kaŋ⁵⁵/ |
| Fuzhou (Min Dong) | /kuŋ⁴⁴/ | |
| Jian'ou (Min Bei) | /kɔŋ⁵⁴/ | |
| Shantou (Min Nan) |
/koŋ³³/ /kaŋ³³/ |
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| Haikou (Min Nan) |
/koŋ²³/ /kaŋ²³/ |
| Rime | |
|---|---|
| Character | 公 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| Initial (聲) | 見 (28) |
| Final (韻) | 東 (1) |
| Tone (調) | Level (Ø) |
| Openness (開合) | Open |
| Division (等) | I |
| Fanqie | 古紅切 |
| Reconstructions | |
| Zhengzhang Shangfang |
/kuŋ/ |
| Pan Wuyun |
/kuŋ/ |
| Shao Rongfen |
/kuŋ/ |
| Edwin Pulleyblank |
/kəwŋ/ |
| Li Rong |
/kuŋ/ |
| Wang Li |
/kuŋ/ |
| Bernard Karlgren |
/kuŋ/ |
| Expected Mandarin Reflex |
gōng |
| Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014) | ||
|---|---|---|
| Character | 公 | 公 |
| Reading # | 1/2 | 2/2 |
| Modern Beijing (Pinyin) |
gōng | gōng |
| Middle Chinese |
‹ kuwng › | ‹ kuwng › |
| Old Chinese |
/*C.qˤoŋ/ | /*C.qˤoŋ/ |
| English | impartial, just; public | father; prince |
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter-Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; | ||
| Zhengzhang system (2003) | |
|---|---|
| Character | 公 |
| Reading # | 1/1 |
| No. | 4092 |
| Phonetic component |
公 |
| Rime group |
東 |
| Rime subdivision |
0 |
| Corresponding MC rime |
公 |
| Old Chinese |
/*kloːŋ/ |
Definitions
公
- public; communal
- Antonyms: 私 (sī)
- fair; equitable
- duke
- (unit) of the International System
- (of animals) male
- Antonyms: 母 (mǔ)
Compounds
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Japanese
Kanji
Readings
Compounds
Noun
公 (hiragana おおやけ, romaji ōyake, historical hiragana おほやけ)
Pronoun
- Alternative form of 君
Korean
Hanja
公 • (gong)
Eumhun:
- Sound (hangeul): 공 (McCune-Reischauer: kong)
- Name (hangeul): 공변될()
- This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text
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Vietnamese
Han character
公 (công)
- This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text
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