公休 (gōng xiū) — official public holiday (e.g., National Day); regular day off designated by a particular trade or company

Definition

Refers to an official day off — either a public holiday (like National Day) or a scheduled day off set by a company or industry. It names the rest day itself, not the broader vacation period.

noun
official public holiday (e.g., National Day)regular day off designated by a particular trade or company

Examples

  • 公休。
    Zhè ge háng yè yǒu zì jǐ de gōng xiū zhì dù.
    This industry has its own system of official holidays.
  • 公休。
    Guó qìng jié de gōng xiū yǒu qī tiān.
    The National Day official holiday is seven days.
  • 公休。
    Wǒ men gōng sī de gōng xiū shì měi zhōu sān.
    Our company's regular day off is every Wednesday.

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
休xiūrest/holiday

公 ('public') and 休 ('rest/holiday') together mean an official holiday.

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.

休 pairs 人 (man) with 木 (tree), showing a person leaning against a tree to rest.

Open 休 →

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