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公约 (gōng yuē) — international convention, treaty

Definition

公约 is a formal, multi-party international convention or treaty, broader and more public-facing than 条约 (a specific pact between states) or 契约 (a private legal contract).

noun
international conventiontreaty
Measure word · 项

Examples

  • 公约。
    Zhè xiàng gōng yuē bǎo hù le quán qiú huán jìng.
    This convention protects the global environment.
  • 公约。
    Gè guó dài biǎo zài huì yì shàng tōng guò le xīn gōng yuē.
    Representatives from various countries passed a new convention at the meeting.
  • 公约。
    Zhè xiàng gōng yuē duì wéi hù shì jiè hé píng hěn zhòng yào.
    This convention is very important for maintaining world peace.

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/common
约yuēagreement

公 contributes public/common and 约 contributes agreement, giving a common agreement.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 約; 约 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糸糸mìrope
Sound part声符shēngfú
勺
勺sháo約yuē
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 約 uses 糸, a rope, for its meaning and 勺 for its sound; the simplified 约 is a later shorthand.

Open 约 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9International & DiplomacyLaw & Justice

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