Wiktionary

公

公 U+516C, 公
CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-516C
← 八
[U+516B] 		CJK Unified Ideographs 六 →
[U+516D]

Translingual

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Stroke order
 
Stroke order
 

Han character

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

Derived characters

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References

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  • 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

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trad. 公
simp. # 公
alternative forms 㕣
㒶
𧆷

Glyph origin

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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
               
 
j01453
 
j01454
 
j01455
 
j01456
 
j01457
 
j01458
 
j01459
 
j01460
 
j01461
 
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
 
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
 
A 瓮 from the Longshan culture (also called Black Pottery Culture) [3000 – 1900 BC].

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

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"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

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Note:
  • é̤ng - vernacular;
  • gó̤ng - literary.
Note:
  • gĕ̤ng - vernacular;
  • gŭng - literary.
Note:
  • gang1 - vernacular;
  • gorng1 - literary.
Note:
  • kang - vernacular;
  • kong - literary.
Note:
  • gang1 - vernacular;
  • gong1 - literary.
  • Dialectal data
Variety Location 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/
Tunxi /kan¹¹/
Xiang Changsha /koŋ³³/
Xiangtan /kən³³/
Gan Nanchang /kuŋ⁴²/
Hakka Meixian /kuŋ⁴⁴/
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/
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
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. *[t] 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

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公

  1. public; communal
    Antonym: 私 (sī)
    公共  ―  gōnggòng  ―  public
    公廁／公厕  ―  gōngcè  ―  public toilet
  2. fair; equitable
    不公  ―  bùgōng  ―  unjust
  3. to make public; to announce
  4. international; universal
    公海  ―  gōnghǎi  ―  international waters
    公里  ―  gōnglǐ  ―  kilometer
    公尺  ―  gōngchǐ  ―  meter
  5. duke
    大公  ―  dàgōng  ―  grand duke
  6. (of animals) male
    Antonyms: 母 (mǔ), 乸 (naa2) (Cantonese)
    公雞／公鸡  ―  gōngjī  ―  rooster
    雞公／鸡公 [Cantonese]  ―  gai1 gung1 [Jyutping]  ―  rooster
  7. (figuratively, of instruments, tools, or connectors) male
    Antonyms: 母 (mǔ), 乸 (naa2) (Cantonese)
  8. (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 [Pinyin]
    Tomb of Mr. Chen Dawen (written on a tombstone)
    蔣公／蒋公  ―  Jiǎng gōng  ―  Chiang Kai-shek (honorific form)
  9. grandfather
  10. father-in-law (husband's father)
    公婆  ―  gōngpó  ―  parents-in-law (husband's parents)
  11. (Cantonese) heads (side of a coin)
  12. (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
  13. a surname

Synonyms

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Dialectal synonyms of 鏝 (“side of a coin without written characters”) [map]
Variety Location Words
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
Leizhou 背
Wu Ningbo 烏
Wenzhou 鏝
Xiang Changsha 杠子

Compounds

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Descendants

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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

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Shinjitai

公

Kyūjitai

公

Kanji

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公

(Second grade kyōiku kanji)

Readings

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  • 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

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Etymology 1

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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】
[noun] public
[noun] official, governmental
(This term, 公, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

Etymology 2

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

From Middle Chinese 公 (MC kuwng).

Pronunciation

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Noun

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公(こう) • (kō) 

  1. (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
  2. (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
  3. (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.

Etymology 3

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Kanji in this term
公
きみ
Grade: 2
kun'yomi
For pronunciation and definitions of 公 – see the following entry.
【君きみ】3
[noun] a ruler of a country
[noun] an emperor
[noun] a lord
[noun] a master
[noun] a nobleman or other person of high(er) rank
[noun] (historical, archaic) a prostitute
[noun] (historical) one of the hereditary titles bestowed to local chiefs in ancient Japan
[pronoun] (informal, chiefly men's speech) second-person personal pronoun: you, thou
[pronoun] (after a が (ga) or の (no) particle) term of respect to another person
Alternative spelling
キミ
【君ぎみ】3
[suffix] indicates respect
(This term, 公, is an alternative spelling (uncommon) of the above term.)

References

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  1. ^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tokyo: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

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Etymology

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From Middle Chinese 公 (MC kuwng). Recorded as Middle Korean 고ᇰ (kwong) (Yale: kwong) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

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Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

Wikisource

公 (eumhun 공평할 공 (gongpyeonghal gong))

  1. hanja form? of 공 (“fair; official”)

Compounds

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Compounds

References

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  • 국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會 大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典. [1]

Vietnamese

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Han character

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公: Hán Nôm readings: công

  1. chữ Hán form of công (“public; communalfair; equitable; to make public; to announce; duke”).
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