公 (gōng) is a Chinese character meaning “public”. It is written from 八 (eight) and 厶 (private component), one above the other, and takes 4 strokes.
Build the character for “public”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
八 + 厶
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿱八厶；笔画核验 八2 + 厶2 = 4）
Memory aid
八 on top opens outward, and 厶 below is the small closed-off private bit. Open up what was kept private and it belongs to everyone — 公, public.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
4 strokes
In real words
- 公园gōng yuánpark公 = gōng
- 公斤gōng jīnkilogram公 = gōng
- 公主gōng zhǔprincess公 = gōng
- 公亩gōng mǔare (100 square metres)公 = gōng
- 公共gōng gòngpublic; communal公 = gōngHSK 3
- 公务gōng wùofficial business; public affairs公 = gōng
- 公厕gōng cèpublic toilet公 = gōng
- 公司gōng sīcompany公 = gōng
- 公吨gōng dūnmetric ton公 = gōng
- 公里gōng lǐkilometer公 = gōng
- 公顷gōng qǐnghectare公 = gōng
- 办公室bàn gōng shìoffice公 = gōngHSK 3
- 秉公bǐng gōngimpartially; in a fair and just way公 = gōng
- 公卿gōng qīnghigh-ranking officials of ancient China公 = gōng
Go deeper
All readings
public
public; common; shared by all; official; metric (in units of measure)
属于大家的，不是私人的；也用在计量单位前表示公制。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 公园gōng yuánpark公 = gōng
- 公斤gōng jīnkilogram公 = gōng
- 公主gōng zhǔprincess公 = gōng
- 公亩gōng mǔare (100 square metres)公 = gōng
- 公共gōng gòngpublic; communal公 = gōngHSK 3
- 公务gōng wùofficial business; public affairs公 = gōng
- 公厕gōng cèpublic toilet公 = gōng
- 公司gōng sīcompany公 = gōng
- 公吨gōng dūnmetric ton公 = gōng
- 公里gōng lǐkilometer公 = gōng
- 公顷gōng qǐnghectare公 = gōng
- 办公室bàn gōng shìoffice公 = gōngHSK 3
- 秉公bǐng gōngimpartially; in a fair and just way公 = gōng
- 公卿gōng qīnghigh-ranking officials of ancient China公 = gōng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 公 mean?
公 (gōng) means public; common; shared by all; official; metric (in units of measure).
How do you pronounce 公?
It is pronounced gōng.
What parts is 公 made of?
八 (eight) and 厶 (private component), one above the other. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分（IDS ⿱八厶；笔画核验 八2 + 厶2 = 4）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 公 have?
4. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 公?
八. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 公?
Common ones are 公园 and 公斤. The reading of 公 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.