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公证 (gōng zhèng) — to notarize

Definition

公证 is the official notarization of documents by a 公证处 (notary office), giving them legal force. 证明 just produces proof or a certificate; 认证 confirms credentials or standards compliance — only 公证 is done by a state notary.

verb
to notarize
Easily confused

Examples

  • 公证。
    Wǒ xū yào qù gōng zhèng zhè fèn hé tong.
    I need to go notarize this contract.
  • 公证。
    Nǐ de zhèng shū bì xū gōng zhèng cái néng shǐ yòng.
    Your certificate must be notarized before it can be used.
  • 公证。公证
    Tā men qǐng le yí wèi lǜ shī bāng máng gōng zhèng wén jiàn. gōng zhèng wén jiàn
    They hired a lawyer to help notarize the documents.

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
证zhèngproof/certificate

公 contributes public and 证 contributes proof/certificate, giving public certification.

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 證; 证 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
登
登dēng證zhèng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 證 pairs 言, a words/speech part, with 登 as a sound clue; the simplified 证 is a later shorthand.

Open 证 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Law & Justice

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