Meaning of 公共
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- public; common; communal
How to use 公共
公共 usually comes before a noun to describe things that belong to or serve everyone, like 公共汽车 (gōnggòng qìchē) bus, 公共场所 (gōnggòng chǎngsuǒ) public places, and 公共厕所 (gōnggòng cèsuǒ) public toilet. Example: 公共场所不能抽烟。(Gōnggòng chǎngsuǒ bù néng chōuyān.) Smoking is not allowed in public places.
公 (gōng) means public, as in 公园 (gōngyuán) park, and 共 (gòng) means shared or together, as in 一共 (yígòng) altogether. Put them together and you get something shared by everyone: public.
Common mistake: Both syllables sound similar, but the tones differ: gōng is first tone and gòng is fourth tone, so do not say gōnggōng. Also, 公共 describes shared or public things and does not mean fair, which is 公平 (gōngpíng).
公共 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
公 gōng · public · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
共 gòng · common · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 公共.
| 公司 | gōngsī | company; firm; corporation |
| 办公室 | bàngōngshì | office; business premises |
| 公平 | gōngpíng | fair; impartial |
| 公园 | gōngyuán | park (for public recreation) |
| 公里 | gōnglǐ | kilometer |
| 公路 | gōnglù | highway; road |
| 一共 | yīgòng | in total; altogether |
| 公斤 | gōngjīn | kilogram (kg) |
| 公交车 | gōngjiāochē | public transport vehicle; town bus |
| 公共汽车 | gōnggòng qìchē | bus |
| 共同 | gòngtóng | common; joint |
| 公开 | gōngkāi | open; overt; public; to make public; to release |
Questions about 公共
What does 公共 mean?
公共 (gōnggòng) means "public; common; communal" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 公共?
公共 is made of 2 characters: 公 (4 strokes), 共 (6 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 公共 an HSK word?
Yes. 公共 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 公共 and 公开?
公共 (gōnggòng) means shared by the public, like public facilities or spaces. 公开 (gōngkāi) means open or made known to everyone, like a public announcement or an open secret.
Can 公共 be used as a predicate, like 这个很公共?
Not usually. 公共 works mainly as an attributive word before a noun, as in 公共交通 (gōnggòng jiāotōng) public transport. To say something is shared, Chinese speakers often say 是公共的, as in 这是公共的 (zhè shì gōnggòng de).