公

gōng

public

collectively owned; common; international (e.g. high seas, metric system, calendar); make public; fair; just; Duke, highest of five orders of nobility 五等爵位[wu3 deng3 jue2 wei4]; honorable (gentlemen); father-in-law; male (animal)

divide (八) + private self (厶) = what belongs to all

The private self (厶) is divided and opened outward (八), transforming what is mine into what belongs to everyone. This inversion of selfishness is the root of fairness and public life.

八+厶→公
八DivisionSemantic
厶The privateSemantic

这件事已经公开了,大家都知道了。

zhè jiàn shì yǐ jīng gōng kāi le, dà jiā dōu zhī dào le。

This matter has already been made public, everyone knows about it now.

处理这件事要公平,不能偏向任何一方。

chǔ lǐ zhè jiàn shì yào gōng píng, bù néng piān xiàng rèn hé yī fāng。

Handling this matter must be fair; you cannot favor either side.

Words with 公

办公厅

bàn gōng tīng

general office

百货公司

bǎi huò gōng sī

department store

公卿

gōng qīng

high-ranking officials in the court of a Chinese emperor

卫理公会

wèi lǐ gōng huì

Methodists

美国航空公司

měi guó háng kōng gōng sī

American Airlines

公家

gōng jiā

the public

公章

gōng zhāng

official seal

同业公会

tóng yè gōng huì

trade association

公积金

gōng jī jīn

official reserves

公德

gōng dé

public ethics

公民权

gōng mín quán

civil rights

公诉人

gōng sù rén

district attorney

More characters with 八

兹六其兮兴佾