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公事 (gōng shì) — official business; work-related matters; official documents (formal)

Definition

公事 (gōng shì) means 'official business' or 'work-related matters' — concrete tasks and paperwork at one's job. Compared with 公务, it leans toward the documents and duties a person handles day to day rather than public affairs of an organization.

noun
official businesswork-related mattersofficial documents (formal)
Measure word · 件
Easily confused

Examples

  • 公事。
    Tā chū chāi shì wèi le chǔ lǐ gōng shì.
    He went on a business trip to handle official matters.
  • 公事，。
    gōng shì Bàn wán yǐ hòu, wǒ men kě yǐ liáo liáo tiān.
    After the official business is done, we can chat.
  • 公事。
    Zhè fèn gōng shì xū yào nǐ qiān gè zì.
    This official document needs your signature.

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/official
事shìmatter

公 contributes public/official and 事 contributes matter, giving official matters.

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.

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Workplace & Office

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