公认 (gōng rèn) — to be publicly acknowledged; to be generally accepted (as)

Definition

公认 (gōngrèn) means 'widely recognized' — focuses on collective acknowledgment of a fact or quality. Unlike 通行 (in current use, e.g. rules or currencies), 公认 describes people, views, or status being accepted by the public.

verb
to be publicly acknowledgedto be generally accepted (as)

Examples

  • 公认。
    Tā shì yí wèi gōng rèn de yōu xiù yī shēng.
    He is a universally recognized excellent doctor.
  • 公认。
    Zhè ge guān diǎn yǐ jīng bèi dà jiā gōng rèn wèi zhèng què de.
    This viewpoint has been generally accepted by everyone as correct.
  • 公认。
    Tā de néng lì zài yè nèi shì gōng rèn de.
    His ability is publicly recognized within the industry.

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
认rènacknowledge

公 means public and 认 means acknowledge; together they describe something generally accepted.

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
讠Written in full as言yánspeech
Sound part声符shēngfú
人
人rén认rèn
Same sound today

The left part 讠 shows speech, and the right part 人 gives the sound.

Open 认 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Attitudes & Opinions

Browse more HSK 6 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.