公道 (gōng dao) — fair, reasonable | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

公道 focuses on treatment of people — fair, even-handed, not showing favoritism. Often used for prices, rulings, or how someone handles affairs; 公平 is closer to 'impartial' and 公正 to 'just/equitable'.

adjective

fairreasonable

Examples

公道，。
Zhè ge jià gé hěn gōng dao, wǒ mǎi le.
This price is very fair; I'll buy it.
公道，。
Tā bàn shì yí xiàng gōng dao, dà jiā dōu xìn rèn tā.
He always handles matters fairly; everyone trusts him.
公道。
Fǎ guān zuò chū le gōng dao de pàn jué.
The judge made a fair ruling.

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.

道dàoprinciple

公 means public or fair, and 道 is a principle or way, together suggesting a fair standard.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

行行xíngstreet

止止zhǐfoot

Sound part声符shēngfú

𩠐

首shǒu道dào

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

Early 道 showed a street 行, a foot 止, and a part written 首 or 𩠐; the right part of 行 later disappeared.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 7-9 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Good & Bad

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