公堂 (gōng táng) — (historical) law court; tribunal; ancestral hall; memorial temple

Definition

Historical word meaning an official law court — chiefly seen in set phrases like 对簿公堂 ('meet in court, face each other in lawsuit'). It can also denote an ancestral/memorial hall, but the legal sense is the one learners will meet in texts.

noun
(historical) law courttribunalancestral hallmemorial temple
Measure word · 家

Examples

  • ，公堂。
    Zài gǔ dài, lǎo bǎi xìng dǎ guān si dōu yào shàng gōng táng.
    In ancient times, common people had to go to the court to file lawsuits.
  • 公堂。
    Zhè zuò gōng táng lǐ gòng fèng zhe zǔ xiān de pái wèi.
    This ancestral hall enshrines the memorial tablets of ancestors.
  • ，。
    Shuāng fāng duì bù gōng táng, zuì zhōng dá chéng le hé jiě.
    The two parties faced each other in court and eventually reached a settlement.

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
堂tánghall

“公” means public and “堂” means hall, so the word denotes a public hall or court.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
尚
尚shàng堂táng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

堂 uses 土 as a ground/earth part and 尚 for sound.

Open 堂 →

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