Meaning of 公里
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- kilometer
How to use 公里
公里 is a measure word for distance, so it follows a number directly without 个. People use it for travel, running, and speed. Example: 我家离公司五公里。(Wǒ jiā lí gōngsī wǔ gōnglǐ.) My home is five kilometers from the company.
公 (gōng) means public or official, and 里 (lǐ) is an old Chinese unit of distance. An official, standard 里 is the metric kilometer, so 公里 is the public measure of distance.
Common mistake: Learners often say 五个公里. Since 公里 is already a measure word, just say 五公里 (wǔ gōnglǐ). Also, the 里 in 公里 is third tone lǐ. It is the same character as the 里 in 里边 (lǐbian, inside), but here it means a unit of distance, not inside.
公里 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
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里 lǐ · lining · 7 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 公里.
Questions about 公里
What does 公里 mean?
公里 (gōnglǐ) means "kilometer" and is used as a measure word.
How do you write 公里?
公里 is made of 2 characters: 公 (4 strokes), 里 (7 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 公里 an HSK word?
Yes. 公里 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say kilometers per hour in Chinese?
Say 公里每小时 (gōnglǐ měi xiǎoshí) or, more casually, 每小时多少公里 (měi xiǎoshí duōshao gōnglǐ) to ask how many kilometers per hour. In speech, 时速一百公里 (shísù yìbǎi gōnglǐ) means a speed of 100 km per hour.
What is the difference between 公里 and 里?
公里 is one kilometer. 里 on its own is the traditional Chinese unit, equal to half a kilometer. You still hear 里 in casual speech and idioms, but 公里 is the standard word on signs and maps.