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公告 (gōng gào) — (noun) public announcement, notice; (verb) to announce publicly, to make a public notice

Definition

公告 is an official, formal announcement (noun or verb), usually from a government, company, or institution — broader and more public than 通知 (inform/internal notice) and more authoritative than 启事 (a small classified-type notice).

noun
public announcementnotice
verb
to announce publiclyto make a public notice
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 公告。
    Zhèng fǔ zuó tiān gōng gào le yí xiàng xīn zhèng cè.
    The government announced a new policy yesterday.
  • 公告。
    Qǐng bǎ zhè fèn gōng gào tiē zài mén kǒu.
    Please post this notice at the door.
  • 公告。
    Gōng sī nèi bù gōng gào shuō xià ge yuè yào tiáo zhěng gōng zī.
    The company's internal announcement says salaries will be adjusted next month.

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
告gàoannounce

“公” means public and “告” means announce, so the word refers to a public notice.

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 →

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

The origin is unclear: one theory sees 告 as 壴 (a decorated drum) above 口 (an open mouth), while another sees a tongue sticking out of 口.

Open 告 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Mail & Messaging

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