Meaning of 宫
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- palace
- temple
- castration (as corporal punishment)
- first note in pentatonic scale
- surname Gong
How to use 宫
宫 (gōng) rarely stands alone in modern speech. It usually appears in compounds like 宫殿 (gōngdiàn, palace), 皇宫 (huánggōng, imperial palace) and 迷宫 (mígōng, maze). Example: 故宫在北京。(Gùgōng zài Běijīng.) The Forbidden City is in Beijing.
宫 has the roof radical 宀 on top and two stacked squares (吕) below. Picture a big roof sheltering room after room, the many halls of a palace.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 宫 (gōng) with 官 (guān, official), since both sit under 宀. The bottom of 宫 is two separate boxes, while 官 has a connected shape on the left side.
宫 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.
宫 gōng · palace · 9 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 宫.
| 宫殿 | gōngdiàn | palace |
| 皇宫 | huánggōng | imperial palace |
| 宫廷 | gōngtíng | court (of king or emperor) |
| 迷宫 | mígōng | maze; labyrinth |
| 子宫 | zǐgōng | uterus; womb |
| 王宫 | wánggōng | imperial palace |
| 十二宫 | shí'èrgōng | the twelve equatorial constellations or signs of the zodiac in Western astronomy and astro |
| 进宫 | jìngōng | to enter the emperor's palace; (slang) to go to jail |
| 后宫 | hòugōng | harem; chambers of imperial concubines |
| 宫女 | gōngnǚ | palace maid |
Questions about 宫
What does 宫 mean?
宫 (gōng) means "palace; temple" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 宫?
宫 is made of 1 character: 宫 (9 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 宫 an HSK word?
Yes. 宫 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 宫 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 宫 is written 宮.
Why does 子宫 mean uterus if 宫 means palace?
子宫 (zǐgōng) literally means child's palace, a sheltered room where a baby grows. It is the standard medical and everyday word for womb.
Is 宫 used for temples too?
Yes. Many Daoist temples are named with 宫, such as 雍和宫 (Yōnghégōng) in Beijing, which is actually a Tibetan Buddhist temple. In names like these, 宫 means a grand temple or sacred hall rather than a royal residence.