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公款 (gōng kuǎn) — public money

Definition

Public money held by an organization — funds owned by the state or a company, not by individuals. 公费 is funding provided to cover specific expenses (e.g., travel, study), while 公款 is the money pool itself that must be managed responsibly.

noun
public money
Measure word · 笔

Examples

  • 公款。
    Tā yīn wèi nuó yòng gōng kuǎn bèi kāi chú le.
    He was fired for misappropriating public funds.
  • 公款。
    Gōng sī yán jìn yòng gōng kuǎn qǐng kè chī fàn.
    The company strictly forbids using public money to treat guests to meals.
  • 公款。
    Shěn jì fā xiàn le yì bǐ gōng kuǎn bèi làn yòng.
    The audit uncovered a sum of public money that had been abused.

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
款kuǎnfunds

公 means public and 款 means funds, so the word refers to money held publicly.

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
欠欠qiànlacking, desire
Sound part声符shēngfú
柰
柰nài款kuǎn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

款 pairs 柰, a sound hint, with 欠, a part about lacking or desire.

Open 款 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Government & PoliticsMoney & Currency

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