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公会 (gōng huì) — guild; trade association; professional society

Definition

noun
guildtrade associationprofessional society
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 公会。
    Zhōng shì jì ōu zhōu de gōng huì duì gōng yì fā zhǎn qǐ le hěn dà zuò yòng.
    Medieval European guilds played a major role in the development of crafts.
  • 公会。
    Zhè ge gōng huì měi nián dōu huì jǔ bàn háng yè jiāo liú huì.
    This trade association holds an industry exchange meeting every year.
  • 公会。
    Tā zài yóu xì lǐ jiā rù le yí gè dà xíng gōng huì.
    He joined a large guild in the game.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

公gōngpublic
会huìassociation

公 indicates public or common, while 会 indicates an association, naming a shared professional body.

Characters in this word

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.

Open 公 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 會; 会 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
合合héto meet
Sound part声符shēngfú
𡆧
𡆧𡆧會huì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

Traditional 會 pairs 合 (to meet) with 𡆧, an original form for ironware, to give the sound. The simplified 会 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the original parts.

Open 会 →
Appears in
Groups & Organizations

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