公署 (gōng shǔ) — government office; official administrative bure…

Definition

noun

government officeofficial administrative bureau

Measure word · 个

公署。
Tā zài zhè jiā gōng shǔ gōng zuò le èr shí nián.
He has worked at this government office for twenty years.
公署。
gōng shǔ De bàn gōng shí jiān shì cóng shàng wǔ jiǔ diǎn dào xià wǔ wǔ diǎn.
The office hours of the government office are from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
公署。
Shì mín kě yǐ dào gōng shǔ bàn lǐ xiāng guān shǒu xù.
Citizens can go to the government office to handle the relevant procedures.

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 means public or official, and 署 means office, so the word denotes an official administrative office.

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.

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

罒者署

Meaning part形符xíngfú

罒Written in full as网wǎngnet

Sound part声符shēngfú

者

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

署 shows a net 罒 for its meaning, and uses 者 to give its sound.