公害 (gōng hài) — (noun) public nuisance; (noun) environmental po… | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

公害 (gōnghài) means pollution or hazards that harm the general public — wider in scope than a single person or place, and typically used in formal/environmental contexts.

noun

public nuisanceenvironmental pollution

Examples

公害。
Gōng chǎng pái fàng fèi qì shì yán zhòng de gōng hài.
Factories emitting waste gas is a serious environmental pollution problem.
公害，。
Zào yīn yě shì yì zhǒng gōng hài, yǐng xiǎng jū mín jiàn kāng.
Noise is also a public nuisance that affects residents' health.
公害。
Zhèng fǔ bì xū cǎi qǔ cuò shī zhì lǐ gōng hài.
The government must take measures to control public nuisances.

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 means public, and 害 means harm; together they mean public harm or nuisance.

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.

假借jiǎjièLater borrowed for its sound alone — the picture has nothing to do with today’s meaning.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

宀宀mián

Sound part声符shēngfú

丯

丯jiè害hài

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

害 was borrowed purely for its sound. Its old picture, possibly a house rafter, is unrelated to harm.

Appears in

Environment & Ecology Society & Public Life

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