Writing
公 (gōng) — how to say "public" in Chinese
公
Public; male (of animals)
adjective
Character composition
公
public; male
Radicals / Keys
八
Eight
#12 · bā · 2 strokes
Collocations
一公一母
yì gōng yì mǔ
one male and one female
Examples
这笔钱都是公的，大家应该一起决定怎么用。
All this money is public; everyone should decide together how to use it.
这只猫是公的。
This cat is male.
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Frequently asked questions
How do you say "public" in Chinese?
"public" in Chinese is 公 (gōng).
公 meaning in English
公 (gōng) means "Public; male (of animals)".
公 pronunciation
It is pronounced gōng (written as gong). You can listen to the pronunciation on this page.
How do you write "public" in Chinese characters?
It is written 公 and has 4 strokes. The Writing section above animates the stroke order and lets you trace it.
What HSK 3.0 level is 公?
公 is on the HSK 3.0 level 6 word list. It is not part of the six-level HSK 2.0 lists.
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Grammar with 公
害得 — causing a negative result
害得 (hàide) + Person + Verb Phrase
化 — making -ize/-ify verbs
Noun / Adj. + 化 (huà) → Verb (to -ize/-ify)
等于 — equal to
A + 等于 (děngyú) + B
本 — your side with 本
本 (běn) + Noun (our/this)
以 — in the name of
以 (yǐ) + Person / Org + 的名义 (de míngyì) + Verb
不断 vs 不停 — continuous vs nonstop
不断 (bùduàn) + Verb (continuous, unceasing) / 不停 (bùtíng) + Verb (incessant, nonstop)