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公办 (gōng bàn) — state-run (of public institutions, e.g. schools, hospitals)

Definition

公办 means state-run (schools, hospitals, institutions) — funded and operated by the government. Contrast with 民办, which is privately run by local people or non-government bodies.

adjective
state-run (of public institutions, e.g. schools, hospitals)

Examples

  • 公办，。
    Dà bù fen xiǎo xué dōu shì gōng bàn xué xiào, zhǐ yǒu shǎo shù shì sī lì xué xiào.
    Most elementary schools are state-run; only a few are private schools.
  • 公办，。
    Tā zài zhè jiā gōng bàn yī yuàn gōng zuò, shōu rù hěn wěn dìng.
    He works at this state-run hospital, and his income is very stable.
  • 公办。
    gōng bàn Jī gòu de zhāo pìn liú chéng tōng cháng bǐ jiào yán gé.
    The recruitment process of state-run institutions is usually relatively strict.

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gōngstate/public
办bànrun/operate

公办 refers to an institution that is 公 (state/public) in the way it is 办 (run/operated).

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 辦; 办 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
辡
辡biàn辦bàn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 辦 combines 力 (strength) with 辡, which gives the sound; the simplified 办 is a later shorthand.

Open 办 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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