Dong Chinese dictionary

gōng

public

Originally a pictograph of a vessel for holding liquid, now written as 瓮, with the 瓦 (pottery) component added at the bottom. The current meaning "public" is a phonetic loan.

Evolution

Oracle script

(~1250-1000 BC)

Bronze script

Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)

Seal script

Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical script

Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

公

gōng

fair, equitable; public; duke; collectively owned; common; international (e.g. high seas, metric system, calendar); make public; fair; just; Duke, highest of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wǔděngjuéwèi]; honorable (gentlemen); father-in-law; male (animal)

Most common words with 公

Freq.	Word	Meaning
	公司	company
	办公室	office
	公寓	apartment building
	公平	fair
	公园	park (for public recreation)

Component uses

Sound component in 14 characters (5 verified)

Sources

MTSU Chinese text computing

漢語多功能字庫

Freq.

Word

Meaning