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公务 (gōng wù) — official business; public affairs

Definition

Refers to official or government business — the formal duties of public agencies or officials. Distinct from 公事, which leans toward paperwork/individual official matters, and from 业务, which means a company's commercial work.

noun
official businesspublic affairs
Measure word · 件

Examples

  • 公务。
    Tā yīn wèi gōng wù qù le běi jīng.
    He went to Beijing on official business.
  • 公务？
    Zhè cì chū chāi shì gōng wù hái shì lǚ yóu?
    Is this business trip for official business or for tourism?
  • 公务，。
    gōng wù Hěn máng, méi shí jiān xiū xi.
    Official business keeps me busy; there's no time to rest.

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
务wùaffairs

公 contributes public and 务 contributes affairs, giving public affairs.

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 務; 务 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
敄
敄wù務wù
Same sound today

In the traditional form 務, 力 shows the sense of strength or effort, while 敄 gives the sound. The simplified 务 is a later shorthand.

Open 务 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Government & Politics

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