居功 (jū gōng) — to claim credit for oneself (often with a critical or negative nuance)

Definition

居功 means to claim credit for achievements, usually with a critical tone — it implies the person is overstating their role. Often pairs with 自傲 ('arrogant'), as in 居功自傲.

verb
to claim credit for oneself (often with a critical or negative nuance)
Easily confused

Examples

  • ，居功。
    Tā zuò le hěn duō shì, dàn cóng bù jū gōng.
    He did a lot of work, but never took credit for himself.
  • ？
    Zài zhè ge xiàng mù lǐ nǐ jū le shén me gōng?
    What credit did you claim in this project?
  • 居功。
    Lǐng dǎo bù xǐ huan nà zhǒng jū gōng zì ào de rén.
    Leaders don't like people who claim credit and become arrogant.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

居jūclaim/take
功gōngmerit

居 (take/claim) and 功 (merit) form the act of taking credit.

Characters in this word

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
尸尸shī
Sound part声符shēngfú
古
古gǔ居jū
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

居 is built from 尸 as the meaning part and 古 (gǔ) as the sound part.

Open 居 →

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
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng功gōng
Same sound today

功 puts 力 (strength) beside 工, which gives the sound gōng and means labour or work.

Open 功 →

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