Meaning of 公民
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- citizen
How to use 公民
公民 is a formal word used for legal status, rights and duties, often in news, law and school textbooks. It often appears with 权利 (quánlì, rights) and 义务 (yìwù, duties). Example: 他是中国公民。(Tā shì Zhōngguó gōngmín.) He is a Chinese citizen.
公 (gōng) means public, shared by everyone, and 民 (mín) means the people. A 公民 is a member of the people who belongs to the public life of a country, in other words a citizen.
Common mistake: Learners often use 公民 when they just mean "people" or "residents" in a casual sense. For everyday talk about people living somewhere, use 人 (rén) or 居民 (jūmín, resident), and keep 公民 for legal citizenship.
公民 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
民 mín · citizens · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 公民.
| 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 |
| 公斤 | gōngjīn | kilogram (kg) |
| 公交车 | gōngjiāochē | public transport vehicle; town bus |
| 公共汽车 | gōnggòng qìchē | bus |
| 人民 | rénmín | the people |
| 公开 | gōngkāi | open; overt; public; to make public; to release |
| 农民 | nóngmín | peasant; farmer |
Questions about 公民
What does 公民 mean?
公民 (gōngmín) means "citizen" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 公民?
公民 is made of 2 characters: 公 (4 strokes), 民 (5 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 公民 an HSK word?
Yes. 公民 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 公民 and 人民?
公民 (gōngmín) is a legal term for an individual citizen of a country. 人民 (rénmín) means "the people" as a collective group, as in 人民币 (rénmínbì) or 中华人民共和国. You can say 一个公民 (one citizen), but not 一个人民.
How do you say "citizenship" or "nationality" in Chinese?
Citizenship as a legal status is often 国籍 (guójí), as in 中国国籍 (Chinese nationality). You may also see 公民身份 (gōngmín shēnfen), meaning citizen status.