公

公	U+516C, 公 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-516C

← 八

CJK Unified Ideographs

六 →

Translingual

Stroke order

Stroke order

Han character

公 (Kangxi radical 12, 八+2, 4 strokes, cangjie input 金戈 (CI), four-corner 8073₂, composition ⿱八厶)

Derived characters

伀, 㕬, 妐, 彸, 忪, 㳂, 昖, 松, 炂, 玜, 衳, 舩, 蚣, 䚗, 訟(讼), 䡆, 鈆(𫓪), 䰸
𣌶, 頌(颂), 䲲, 𠕺, 㝐, 枩, 䇗, 䯳, 𮮊, 兊, 忩, 枀, 瓮, 翁, 衮

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 126, character 28
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1452
Dae Jaweon: page 277, character 1
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 242, character 1
Unihan data for U+516C

Chinese

trad.		公
simp. ^#		公
alternative forms		㕣㒶𧆷

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 公
Shang	Western Zhou	Spring and Autumn	Warring States			Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Qin slip script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Oracle bone script j01453 j01454 j01455 j01456 j01457 j01458 j01459 j01460 j01461 Bronze inscriptions b01003 b01004 b01005 b01006 b01007 b01008 b01009 b01010 b01011 b01012 b01013 b01014 b01015 b01016 b01017 b01018 b01019 b01020 b01021 b01022 b01023 b01024 b01025 b01026 b01027 b01028 b01029 b01030 b01031 b01032 b01033 b01034 b01035 b01036 b01037 b01038 b01039 b01040 b01041 b01042 b01043 b01044 b01045 b01046 b01047 b01048 b01049 b01050 b01051 b01052 b01053 b01054 b01055 b01056 b01057 b01058 b01059 b01060 b01061 b01062 b01063 b01064 b01065 b01066 b01067 b01068 b01069 Small seal script s00797 Transcribed ancient scripts L00339 L00340 L00341 L00342 L00343 L00344 L00345 L00346 L00347 L00348 L00349 L00350 L00351 L00352 L00353 L00354 L00355 L00356 L00357 L00358 L00359 L00360 L00361 L00362 L00363 L00364 L00365 L00366 L00367 L00368 L00369 L00370 L00371 L00372 L00373 L29774 L29775 L29776 L29777 L29778 L29779 L29780 L29781 L29782 L29783 L29784 L29785 L29786 L29787 L29788
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Characters in the same phonetic series (公) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
慃	*qroːŋʔ
袞	*kluːnʔ
蔉	*kluːnʔ
滾	*kluːnʔ
忩	*sʰloːŋ
鬆	sqʰloːŋs, sqʰluːŋ, skʰloŋ, sqʰloŋ
凇	sqʰloːŋs, sqʰloŋ, *sɢloŋ
公	*kloːŋ
蚣	kloːŋ, kljoŋ
翁	*qloːŋ
螉	*qloːŋ
蓊	qloːŋ, qloːŋʔ
嗡	*qloːŋ
滃	*qloːŋʔ
暡	*qloːŋʔ
勜	*qloːŋʔ
塕	*qloːŋʔ
瓮	*qloːŋs
崧	*sqʰluŋ
菘	*sqʰluŋ
硹	*sqʰluŋ
淞	sqʰloŋ, sɢloŋ
蜙	*sqʰloŋ
倯	*sqʰloŋ
松	*sɢloŋ
訟	sɢloŋ, sɢloŋs
頌	sɢloŋs, loŋ
忪	*kljoŋ
彸	*kljoŋ
衳	*kljoŋ
伀	*kljoŋ
妐	*kljoŋ
炂	*kljoŋ
鈆	kljoŋ, lon

The traditional interpretation as given by Han Feizi is that 公 is a compound of 八 (= 背 (“to deviate; opposite”)) and 厶 (original form of 私 (“individual; private”)), i.e. the opposite of “private” — “public”. This theory is supported by Sun Yirang and Qiang Kaiyun, despite the somewhat different shape of the bottom component from 厶.

This is disputed in modern times by Gao Hongjin, who thinks that the 八 on top stands for 分 (“to divide; to distribute”) and the bottom round component 口 symbolises a generic object. 公 thus represents “equally dividing resources so that they are communal”.

Another theory put forth by Zhu Fangpu is that 公 is a pictogram (象形), being the original form of 瓮 (OC *qloːŋs, “a wide-mouthed round-bottomed jar”), and later borrowed for the meanings of “public” and “male of older generation or higher rank”.

Etymology

"fair; impartial; public": From Sino-Tibetan; cognate with Tibetan གུང (gung), དགུང (dgung, “middle”), considering that "middle" may be semantically associated with "balance" (Schuessler, 2007).

"male of older generation or higher rank; duke; male (of animals)": This word has been connected to 翁 (OC *qloːŋ) (Wang, 1982; Unger, 1999; Baxter and Sagart, 2017). Baxter and Sagart (2017) also includes 妐 (OC *t-qoŋ, “husband's father”) in this word family.; STEDT provisionally sets up Proto-Sino-Tibetan *kaŋ (“father; grandfather; honorific”), also comparing it to 翁; compare Drung kangkang (“grandpa”), vkang (“(my/our) grandfather”), Burmese ခင် (hkang), as in မိခင် (mi.hkang, “mother”), ဖခင် (hpa.hkang, “father”). Alternatively, STEDT also compares it with Proto-Sino-Tibetan *gaŋ (“penis; male”), whence 雄 (OC *ɡʷɯŋ, “male”), but considers it less probable.; Schuessler (2007) suggests a Mon-Khmer origin; compare Khmer ឡូញ (louñ, “title of an unidentified rank or function”) and Old Khmer khloñ (“head, chief”) (whence ខ្លោង (khlaong)). Compare also Thai ลุง (lung), from Proto-Tai *luŋᴬ (“parent's older brother”), which may also be from Mon-Khmer. Tibetan ཁོང (khong) ~ གོང (gong, “final syllable in dignitaries' name”) may be borrowed from Chinese.

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): gōng (gong¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄥ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): gong¹

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): гун (gun, I)
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): gung¹

(Taishan, Wiktionary): guung¹

(Yangjiang, Jyutping++): gung¹
Gan (Wiktionary): gung¹
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): kûng

(Hailu, HRS): gung^ˋ

(Meixian, Guangdong): gung¹
Jin (Wiktionary): gung¹
Northern Min (KCR): é̤ng / gó̤ng
Eastern Min (BUC): gĕ̤ng / gŭng
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): kang / kong

(Teochew, Peng'im): gang¹ / gong¹

(Leizhou, Leizhou Pinyin): gong¹
Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ¹kon
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): gong¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: gōng
  - Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: gong
  - Wade–Giles: kung¹
  - Yale: gūng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gong
  - Palladius: гун (gun)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʊŋ⁵⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: gong¹
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: gung
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /koŋ⁵⁵/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: гун (gun, I)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuŋ²⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: gung¹
  - Yale: gūng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gung¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: gung¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʊŋ⁵⁵/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: guung¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɵŋ³³/
- (Yangjiang Yue, Jiangcheng)
  - Jyutping++: gung¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʊŋ³³/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: gung¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuŋ⁴²/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kûng
  - Hakka Romanization System: gung^ˊ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: gung¹
  - Sinological IPA: /kuŋ²⁴/
- (Hailu, incl. Zhudong)
  - Hakka Romanization System: gung^ˋ
  - Sinological IPA: /kuŋ⁵³/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: gung¹
  - Sinological IPA: /kʊŋ⁴⁴/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: gung¹
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /kuŋ¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: é̤ng / gó̤ng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /œyŋ⁵⁴/, /kɔŋ⁵⁴/

Note:

é̤ng - vernacular;
gó̤ng - literary.

Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: gĕ̤ng / gŭng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /køyŋ⁵⁵/, /kuŋ⁵⁵/

Note:

gĕ̤ng - vernacular;
gŭng - literary.

Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kang
  - Tâi-lô: kang
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kafng
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /kaŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /kaŋ³³/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kong
  - Tâi-lô: kong
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kofng
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /kɔŋ³³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /kɔŋ⁴⁴/

Note:

kang - vernacular;
kong - literary.

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: gang¹ / gong¹
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kang / kong
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaŋ³³/, /koŋ³³/

Note:

gang1 - vernacular;
gong1 - literary.

(Leizhou)
- Leizhou Pinyin: gong¹
- Sinological IPA: /kɔŋ³⁵/

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai, Suzhou)
  - Wugniu: ¹kon
  - MiniDict: kon^平
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹kon
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /koŋ⁵³/
  - Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /koŋ⁴⁴/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: gong¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /kʊŋ³³/
  - Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /kən³³/

Dialectal data

Variety	Location	edit 公
Mandarin	Beijing	/kuŋ⁵⁵/
	Harbin	/kuŋ⁴⁴/
	Tianjin	/kuŋ²¹/
	Jinan	/kuŋ²¹³/
	Qingdao	/kəŋ²¹³/
	Zhengzhou	/kuŋ²⁴/
	Xi'an	/kuŋ²¹/
	Xining	/kuə̃⁴⁴/
	Yinchuan	/kuŋ⁴⁴/
	Lanzhou	/kũn³¹/
	Ürümqi	/kuŋ⁴⁴/
	Wuhan	/koŋ⁵⁵/
	Chengdu	/koŋ⁵⁵/
	Guiyang	/koŋ⁵⁵/
	Kunming	/koŋ⁴⁴/
	Nanjing	/koŋ³¹/
	Hefei	/kəŋ²¹/
Jin	Taiyuan	/kuəŋ¹¹/
	Pingyao	/kuŋ¹³/
	Hohhot	/kũŋ³¹/
Wu	Shanghai	/koŋ⁵³/
	Suzhou	/koŋ⁵⁵/
	Hangzhou	/koŋ³³/
	Wenzhou	/koŋ³³/
Hui	Shexian	/kuʌ̃³¹/
Hui	Tunxi	/kan¹¹/
Xiang	Changsha	/koŋ³³/
Xiang	Xiangtan	/kən³³/
Gan	Nanchang	/kuŋ⁴²/
Hakka	Meixian	/kuŋ⁴⁴/
Hakka	Taoyuan	/kuŋ²⁴/
Cantonese	Guangzhou	/koŋ⁵³/
	Nanning	/kuŋ⁵⁵/
	Hong Kong	/kuŋ⁵⁵/
Min	Xiamen (Hokkien)	/kiɔŋ⁵⁵/ /kaŋ⁵⁵/
	Fuzhou (Eastern Min)	/kuŋ⁴⁴/
	Jian'ou (Northern Min)	/kɔŋ⁵⁴/
	Shantou (Teochew)	/koŋ³³/ /kaŋ³³/
	Haikou (Hainanese)	/koŋ²³/ /kaŋ²³/

Middle Chinese: kuwng

Rime
Character	公
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	東 (1)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	古紅切
Baxter	kuwng
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kuŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/kuŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/kuŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kəwŋ/
Li Rong	/kuŋ/
Wang Li	/kuŋ/
Bernhard Karlgren	/kuŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	gōng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gung¹

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*C.qˤoŋ/

(Zhengzhang): /*kloːŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	公	公
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	gōng	gōng
Middle Chinese	‹ kuwng ›	‹ kuwng ›
Old Chinese	/*C.qˁoŋ/	/*C.qˁoŋ/
English	impartial, just; public	father; prince
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. * as coda may in fact be -t or -p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	公
Reading #	1/1
No.	4092
Phonetic component	公
Rime group	東
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	公
Old Chinese	/*kloːŋ/

Definitions

公

public; communal
Antonym: 私 (sī)

公共 ― gōnggòng ― public

公廁／公厕 ― gōngcè ― public toilet
fair; equitable
不公 ― bùgōng ― unjust
to make public; to announce
international; universal
公海 ― gōnghǎi ― international waters

公里 ― gōnglǐ ― kilometer

公尺 ― gōngchǐ ― meter
duke
大公 ― dàgōng ― grand duke
(of animals) male
Antonyms: 母 (mǔ), 乸 (naa²) (Cantonese)

公雞／公鸡 ― gōngjī ― rooster

雞公／鸡公 [Cantonese] ― gai¹ gung¹ ― rooster
(figuratively, of instruments, tools, or connectors) male
Antonyms: 母 (mǔ), 乸 (naa²) (Cantonese)
(honorific) old man or a man of high status
陳公大文之墓 [MSC, trad.]
陈公大文之墓 [MSC, simp.]
Chén gōng Dàwén zhī mù
Tomb of Mr. Chen Dawen (written on a tombstone)

蔣公／蒋公 ― Jiǎng gōng ― Chiang Kai-shek (honorific form)
grandfather
father-in-law (husband's father)
公婆 ― gōngpó ― parents-in-law (husband's parents)
(Cantonese) heads (side of a coin)
(Hakka) A noun suffix
鼻公 [Sixian Hakka] ― phi-kûng [Pha̍k-fa-sṳ] ― nose

貓公／猫公 [Meixian Hakka] ― miau⁴ gung¹ [Hakka Transliteration Scheme] ― cat
a surname

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 鏝 (“side of a coin without written characters”)

Variety	Location	Words edit
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	鏝兒
Central Plains Mandarin	Luoyang	鏝兒
	Wanrong	鏝兒
	Xi'an	鏝兒
	Xining	鏝兒
	Xuzhou	鏝兒
Southwestern Mandarin	Wuhan	鏝
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	幕
Cantonese	Hong Kong	公
Gan	Nanchang	鏝
	Lichuan	鏝兒
	Pingxiang	鏝子, 番子
Jin	Taiyuan	幕兒, 鏝兒
	Pingyao	眼兒
	Shenmu	鏝兒
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	覆
Southern Min	Xiamen	合
Southern Min	Leizhou	背
Wu	Ningbo	烏
Wu	Wenzhou	鏝
Xiang	Changsha	杠子

Compounds

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (公):

→ Japanese: 公(こう) (kō, “duke”)
→ Korean: 공(公) (gong, “duke”)
→ Vietnamese: công (公, “duke”)

Others:

→ Mongolian: гүн (gün)
→ Manchu: ᡤᡠᠩ (gung)
→ Thai: กง (gong, “grandfather”) (said by Chinese race)

Japanese

Shinjitai	公
Kyūjitai	公

Kanji

公

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

Go-on: く (ku)
Kan-on: こう (kō, Jōyō)^{←こう (kou, historical)}
Kun: おおやけ (ōyake, 公, Jōyō)^{←おほやけ (ofoyake, 公, historical)}、きみ (kimi, 公)

Compounds

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
公
おおやけ Grade: 2
kun'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 公 – see the following entry.

【おおやけ】

public

official, governmental

(This term, 公, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
公
こう Grade: 2
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese 公 (MC kuwng).

Pronunciation

(Tokyo) こー (Atamadaka – )^[1]
IPA^(key):

Noun

公(こう) • (kō)

(honorific) a European sovereign prince
モナコ公(こう)
Monako Kō
the Prince of Monaco

ウェールズ公(こう)チャールズ
Wēruzu Kō Chāruzu
Charles, Prince of Wales
(honorific) a duke; in China and Vietnam, an alternative to 王 (ō, “prince”), used by certain dynasties for princes
Holonym: 五爵

Coordinate terms: 侯, 公爵, 子, 男, 伯

周(しゅう)公(こう)旦(たん)
Shūkō Tan
Dan, Duke of Zhou

鄧(とう)九(きゅう)公(こう)
Tō Kyūkō
the Ninth Deng Duke; the Ninth Duke of the Dengs/Deng family

公(こう)子(し)
kōshi
a duke's son

公(こう)女(じょ)
kōjo
a duke's daughter

公(こう)孫(そん)
kōson
a duke's grandchild

エディンバラ公(こう)フィリップ王(おう)配(はい)
Edinbara Kō Firippu Ōhai
Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh
(familiar) used as suffix to denote familiarity with or disdain for someone or an animal
- 1997 September 1 [1996 October 10], Fujiko F. Fujio, “どこかでだれかが　の巻(まき) [Anyone, Anywhere]”, in エスパー魔美 [Esper Mami], 4th edition, volume 1 (fiction), Tokyo: Shogakukan, →ISBN, page 245:
  
  マミ公(こう)‼どこへいったんだ。しようがないなあ‼モデルという重(じゅう)要(よう)なしごとを、こづかいかせぎぐらいにしか、かんがえていないんだから。
  Mami-kō‼ Doko e itta n da. Shiyō ga nai nā‼ Moderu to iu jūyō na shigoto o, kozukai kasegigurai ni shika, kangaete inai n da kara.
  Mami!! Where the hell’d she go? This is unacceptable!! She treats serious modeling as nothing but a way to get pocket money.