Meaning of 官方
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- government
- official (approved or issued by an authority)
How to use 官方
官方 is used as a noun or before another noun to mark something as official or authorized, like 官方网站 (official website) or 官方消息 (official news). It contrasts with unofficial sources such as 民间 (mínjiān) or rumors. Example: 这是官方的说法。(Zhè shì guānfāng de shuōfǎ.) This is the official statement.
官 (guān) means an official, and 方 (fāng) means side or party, as in 南方 (nánfāng). So 官方 is simply the officials' side: whatever comes from the government or an authority.
Common mistake: Learners often use 官方 as an adjective for a formal person or a serious occasion. That meaning belongs to 正式 (zhèngshì), so say 正式场合 for a formal occasion, not 官方场合. Also keep the first-tone 官 (guān) distinct from 管 (guǎn, to manage).
官方 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.
官 guān · government official · 8 strokes
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方 fāng · square · 4 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 官方.
| 地方 | dìfang | region; regional (away from the central administration) |
| 方法 | fāngfǎ | method; way; technique; procedure |
| 方向 | fāngxiàng | direction; orientation |
| 方面 | fāngmiàn | respect; aspect |
| 方便 | fāngbiàn | convenient; suitable; to facilitate; to make things easy |
| 南方 | nánfāng | south; southern direction; (in China) southern regions, often referring to areas south of |
| 北方 | běifāng | north; the northern part a country |
| 西方 | xīfāng | the West; the Occident |
| 东方 | dōngfāng | east |
| 方便面 | fāngbiànmiàn | instant noodles |
| 方式 | fāngshì | way; method; manner; mode; pattern (of behavior etc) |
| 对方 | duìfāng | the other person; the other side; the other party |
Questions about 官方
What does 官方 mean?
官方 (guānfāng) means "government; official (approved or issued by an authority)" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 官方?
官方 is made of 2 characters: 官 (8 strokes), 方 (4 strokes). That is 12 strokes in total.
Is 官方 an HSK word?
Yes. 官方 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 官方 be used for companies, not just governments?
Yes. Any authority that officially represents something can be 官方. For example, a brand's own account is its 官方账号 (guānfāng zhànghào), and a game's official announcement is 官方公告.
How do I say unofficial in Chinese?
You can say 非官方 (fēi guānfāng), as in 非官方数据 (unofficial data). For things that come from ordinary people rather than the state, 民间 (mínjiān) is also common.