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公斤 (gōng jīn) — kilogram (kg)

Definition

Standard Mainland Chinese word for 'kilogram (kg)'. 千克 means the same thing (more scientific/international textbook style); 公里 is a different unit — kilometer, not kilogram.

classifier
kilogram (kg)

Examples

  • 公斤。
    Wǒ mǎi le yì gōng jīn píng guǒ.
    I bought one kilogram of apples.
  • 公斤？
    Zhè ge xī guā yǒu jǐ gōng jīn?
    How many kilograms is this watermelon?
  • 公斤。
    Zhè ge xiāng zi zhòng wǔ gōng jīn.
    This box weighs five kilograms.

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gōngmetric
斤jīncatty

“公” means metric and “斤” means catty, so the word names a kilogram.

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 →

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

斤 is drawn as a simple picture of an axe.

Open 斤 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 3HSK 2.0 Level 2Units & Measurement

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