恭祝 (gōng zhù) — to respectfully congratulate; to wish (in a formal manner)

Definition

A formal, written verb meaning 'to respectfully wish,' used in greetings and ceremonial contexts (e.g., 恭祝新年快乐). Built from 恭 (respectful) + 祝 (wish); 祝 alone is the everyday 'wish.'

verb
to respectfully congratulateto wish (in a formal manner)

Examples

  • 恭祝，。
    gōng zhù Nín xīn nián kuài lè, wàn shì rú yì.
    Wishing you a happy New Year and all the best.
  • 恭祝。
    Wǒ men gōng zhù guì gōng sī shēng yì xīng lóng.
    We respectfully wish your company great prosperity.
  • 恭祝。
    Zài cǐ gōng zhù gè wèi lái bīn shēn tǐ jiàn kāng.
    Hereby I wish all guests good health.

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.

恭gōngrespectful
祝zhùcongratulate

The respect in 恭 and the wishing in 祝 combine into a formal congratulation.

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
心心xīnheart
Sound part声符shēngfú
共
共gòng恭gōng
Same sound today

恭 has 心, meaning heart, and 共, read gòng.

Open 恭 →

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

祝 shows a kneeling person with an open mouth beside an altar.

Open 祝 →

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