公 meaning and stroke order
Public; collectively owned; common
How to write 公, stroke by stroke
4 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
Meaning of 公
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- public
- collectively owned
- common
- international (e.g. high seas, metric system, calendar)
- make public
- fair
How 公 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. To divide 八 what is private 厶.
Radical: 八 (eight), shared by 11 characters on this site.
How to remember 公
The top part 八 means to divide, and the bottom part 厶 means private or selfish. When you split open what is private 厶 and share it out 八, it becomes public and fair: 公 (gōng).
公 rarely stands alone in modern speech. It mostly appears in words about public things, fairness, and metric units, such as 公园 (gōngyuán, park), 公平 (gōngpíng, fair), and 公里 (gōnglǐ, kilometer). Example: 我在公司上班。(Wǒ zài gōngsī shàngbān.) I work at a company.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 公 with 分 (fēn), which has 刀 under 八 instead of 厶. Remember that 公 has a small closed triangle at the bottom, while 分 has a hooked knife stroke.
Common words with 公
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 公司 | gōngsī | company; firm; corporation | HSK 2 |
| 办公室 | bàngōngshì | office; business premises | HSK 2 |
| 公平 | gōngpíng | fair; impartial | HSK 2 |
| 公园 | gōngyuán | park (for public recreation) | HSK 2 |
| 公里 | gōnglǐ | kilometer | HSK 2 |
| 公路 | gōnglù | highway; road | HSK 2 |
| 公斤 | gōngjīn | kilogram (kg) | HSK 2 |
| 公交车 | gōngjiāochē | public transport vehicle; town bus | HSK 2 |
| 公共汽车 | gōnggòng qìchē | bus | HSK 2 |
| 公开 | gōngkāi | open; overt; public; to make public; to release | HSK 3 |
| 公民 | gōngmín | citizen | HSK 3 |
| 公共 | gōnggòng | public; common; communal | HSK 3 |
| 公布 | gōngbù | to announce; to make public; to publish | HSK 3 |
| 高速公路 | gāosù gōnglù | expressway; highway; freeway | HSK 3 |
公 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 公
Learning 公 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 公
How many strokes are in 公?
公 is written with 4 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 公 mean?
公 (gōng) means public; collectively owned; common. A common word with it is 公司 (gōngsī), meaning "company; firm; corporation".
How do you pronounce 公?
公 is pronounced gōng, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 公?
The radical of 公 is 八, which carries the idea of "eight". Dictionaries list 公 under this radical.
Is 公 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 公 is part of the HSK 2 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
Why does 公 appear in metric units like 公里 and 公斤?
In these words 公 means international or standard. 公里 (gōnglǐ) is a kilometer and 公斤 (gōngjīn) is a kilogram, as opposed to traditional Chinese units like 里 (lǐ) and 斤 (jīn).
Does 公 mean male?
Yes, for animals 公 can mean male, as in 公鸡 (gōngjī, rooster), with 母 (mǔ) meaning female. It also appears in 老公 (lǎogōng), a casual word for husband.