充公 (chōng gōng) — to confiscate (by the state or authority) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal/legal verb meaning the state or authority seizes private property. Often appears in 把/被 constructions (把…充公, 被充公).

verb

to confiscate (by the state or authority)

Examples

充公。
Zhèng fǔ yī fǎ chōng gōng liǎo tā de fēi fǎ suǒ dé.
The government lawfully confiscated his illegal gains.
。
Fǎ yuàn bǎ tā de fáng zi chōng le gōng.
The court confiscated his house.
充公。
Wéi fǎn hǎi guān guī dìng de huò wù jiāng bèi chōng gōng.
Goods that violate customs regulations will be confiscated.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

充 “fill” and 公 “public” build the sense “put into public ownership.”

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

𠫓儿充

𠫓𠫓𠫓a newborn
儿儿érstanding person

充 pairs 𠫓, a newborn, with 儿, a standing person, to picture a newborn growing to stand.

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

One theory sees 公 as a picture of a wide-mouthed, round-bottomed jar.

Appears in

Government & Politics Law & Justice

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