功过 (gōng guò) — merits and faults; achievements and errors | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A formal, written-style pair referring to a person's achievements and mistakes together, often used when judging someone historically or retrospectively.

noun

merits and faultsachievements and errors

Examples

功过。
Píng jià yí gè rén yào kàn tā de gōng guò.
To evaluate a person, you must look at his merits and faults.
功过。
Lì shǐ huì gōng zhèng dì jì lù měi gè rén de gōng guò.
History will fairly record everyone's achievements and errors.
功过。
Wǒ men yīng gāi kè guān dì kàn dài qián rén de gōng guò.
We should objectively view the merits and faults of our predecessors.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

The meanings of 功 'merit' and 过 'fault' stand side by side to name both achievements and errors.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

工力功

Meaning part形符xíngfú

力力lìstrength

Sound part声符shēngfú

工

工gōng功gōng

Same sound today

功 puts 力 (strength) beside 工, which gives the sound gōng and means labour or work.

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 過; 过 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

辵辵chuòwalk

Sound part声符shēngfú

咼

咼wāi過guò

Same sound today

The traditional form 過 pairs 辵 (walk) with 咼 as a sound component; the simplified 过 is a shorthand, and its parts are not the historical components.

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