公信力 (gōng xìn lì) — public trust, credibility | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

The trust and credibility an institution (government, media, brand) holds with the public — about reputation, not personal trust between people.

noun

public trustcredibility

Examples

公信力。
Zhèng fǔ de gōng xìn lì hěn zhòng yào.
The government's public trust is very important.
公信力。
Zhè jiā méi tǐ shī qù le gōng xìn lì.
This media outlet has lost credibility.
公信力。
Tí gāo gōng xìn lì xū yào cháng qī nǔ lì.
Improving public trust requires long-term effort.

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.

公信public trust

公gōngpublic信xìntrust

偏正Modifier + head

力lìcapacity

公 public, 信 trust, and 力 capacity; together mean public trustworthiness.

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.

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

言言yánwords

Sound part声符shēngfú

人

人rén信xìn

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

信 pairs 人 as the sound part with 言 (words) as the meaning part.

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

力 is drawn as either an arm bending out from the side of the body or a wooden plough.

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