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公众 (gōng zhòng) — the public (as a collective group)

Definition

公众 is the public as a collective, often in formal or media contexts (公众意见, 公众支持). Closer to 大众 (popular/general) and 群众 (politically-loaded 'the masses'), and more formal than 众人.

noun
the public (as a collective group)

Examples

  • 公众。
    gōng zhòng De yì jiàn duì zhèng fǔ jué cè hěn zhòng yào.
    Public opinion is very important for government decision-making.
  • 公众。
    Zhè xiàng zhèng cè dé dào le gōng zhòng de zhī chí.
    This policy has received public support.
  • 公众。
    Bǎo hù gōng zhòng ān quán shì jǐng chá de zhí zé.
    Protecting public safety is the duty of the police.

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
众zhòngcrowd

公众 joins 公 (public) and 众 (crowd) to mean the general public.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 眾; 众 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 眾 shows three people under a sun-like shape, meaning a crowd gathered under the sun; the simplified 众 is a later shorthand.

Open 众 →
Appears in
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