gong (功) — merit, achievement, skill, effort in Chinese

simplified

traditional · same

gōng

merit · achievement · skill · effort · work (physics)

HSK 3 笔画 5 部首力 (strength) 声旁工 (gōng) 声调第一声 (flat) all gong readings →

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笔顺 bǐshùn · Stroke order

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字源 zìyuán Etymology & Structure

字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight

功 gōng is a pictophonetic compound: the radical 力 lì (strength; the picture of a straining muscle or a plough) carries the meaning, and 工 gōng (work, craft) carries the sound. The semantic logic is transparent: strength applied to work produces a result worth honoring. Where 工 names the labor itself, 功 names what that labor achieves: the merit, the accomplishment, the credit that accrues.

This is the character's central insight. 功 is not raw effort and not bare success, but the bridge between them: effort that has crystallized into something measurable. A soldier who wins a battle has 功 (merit); a student who drills characters for years builds 功 (skill); a medicine that cures has 功 (efficacy). The same glyph spans the battlefield, the practice hall, and the laboratory because Chinese treats all three as the same act: strength patiently converted into result.

The 力 radical gathers a family of effort-and-result characters around it: 努 nǔ (to strive), 加 jiā (to add), 助 zhù (to assist), 劳 láo (toil), 励 lì (to encourage), 勤 qín (diligent). In modern physics, 功 was chosen to translate the technical term work: 做功 zuò gōng is to do work in the mechanical sense, force acting through distance, a perfect reuse of a two-thousand-year-old word.

构词 gòucí Word-Formation Patterns

构词规律 gòucí guīlǜ · Three Senses 功 as merit → 功劳 meritorious service · 成功 success · 立功 to render service · 功绩 achievements
功 as effort → 用功 to study hard · 功夫 skill / kung fu · 下功夫 to put in effort · 基本功 basic skills
功 as efficacy → 功能 function · 功效 efficacy · 武功 martial skill · 做功 to do work (physics)

功劳 gōngláo Merit & Success

功劳 gōngláo merit: credit for meritorious service

N 名词 míngcí

功 gōng (merit) + 劳 láo (toil; labor). The credit owed to someone for hard work that produced real results. Used to acknowledge contribution: 这是大家的功劳 = this is everyone's accomplishment. The modest counterpart is 苦劳 kǔláo, credit merely for effort even without success. The set phrase 没有功劳也有苦劳 = "even if there's no merit, there's at least the hard work," a gentle plea not to overlook someone's toil.

这次项目成功，他的功劳最大。

Zhè cì xiàngmù chénggōng, tā de gōngláo zuì dà.

In the success of this project, his contribution was the greatest.

别把所有功劳都归于自己。

Bié bǎ suǒyǒu gōngláo dōu guīyú zìjǐ.

Don't claim all the credit for yourself.

成功 chénggōng success: to succeed

V/N 动名词 dòng-míngcí

成 chéng (to accomplish; to become) + 功 gōng (achievement). Literally "to complete the achievement." Both verb (to succeed) and noun (success). One of the most common words in modern Chinese, the natural opposite of 失败 shībai (failure). 成功人士 = a successful person. 取得成功 = to attain success.

经过多年努力，他终于成功了。

Jīngguò duō nián nǔlì, tā zhōngyú chénggōng le.

After many years of effort, he finally succeeded.

这次实验取得了成功。

Zhè cì shíyàn qǔdé le chénggōng.

This experiment was a success. [noun use]

辨析 biànxī · 成功 vs. 成就成功 chénggōng = succeeding, the event or state of having achieved a goal (a process reaching its end). 成就 chéngjiù = an accomplishment, the concrete achievement itself, often a body of lasting work: 一生的成就 = a lifetime's achievements. You 成功 at one thing; your 成就 are what you have built across a career.

立功 lì gōng to render meritorious service: to perform a deed

V 动词 dòngcí

立 lì (to establish; to set up) + 功 gōng (merit). To establish merit through a notable deed, originally military, now also civic and professional. A verb-object compound, so it splits: 立了大功 = rendered great service. Often paired with reward: 立功受奖 = to perform a deed and receive a commendation.

他在抗洪救灾中立了大功。

Tā zài kàng hóng jiùzāi zhōng lì le dà gōng.

He rendered great service in the flood-relief effort.

相关 xiāngguān · Related 功绩 gōngjì = achievements and contributions (a record of deeds). 功臣 gōngchén = a meritorious official, a minister who earned the ruler's trust through service. 论功行赏 lùn gōng xíng shǎng = to grant rewards according to merit.

功夫 gōngfu Effort & Skill

功夫 gōngfu skill from practice; effort; kung fu

N 名词 míngcí

功 gōng (effort; achievement) + 夫 fu (a worker; here a light suffix). The skill that only accumulated time and practice can produce. Three linked senses: the abstract effort invested (花了很多功夫 = spent a lot of effort), the time it takes (一会儿功夫 = in a moment), and the trained skill itself, which in the martial-arts sense entered English as kung fu. The famous philosophy: 功夫不负有心人 = effort never lets down the dedicated person.

他的书法很有功夫。

Tā de shūfǎ hěn yǒu gōngfu.

His calligraphy shows real skill.

学好中文要下很大的功夫。

Xuéhǎo Zhōngwén yào xià hěn dà de gōngfu.

Learning Chinese well takes a great deal of effort.

文化 wénhuà · Culture 下功夫 xià gōngfu = to put in the work, to apply sustained effort to mastering something. The mindset behind 功夫 is that excellence is not talent but patient, repeated practice, the same idea that gives 功夫茶 gōngfu chá (the slow, careful gongfu tea ceremony) its name.

用功 yònggōng to study hard; diligent

V 动词 dòngcí

用 yòng (to use; to apply) + 功 gōng (effort). To apply one's effort, specifically to study. Used as a verb (用功读书 = to study diligently) and as an adjective describing a hard-working student (他很用功 = he studies very hard). Distinct from 努力 nǔlì, which applies to effort in any domain; 用功 leans toward study and learning.

她从小就很用功，成绩一直很好。

Tā cóngxiǎo jiù hěn yònggōng, chéngjì yīzhí hěn hǎo.

She has studied hard since childhood, and her grades have always been good.

基本功 jīběngōng basic skills; fundamentals

N 名词 míngcí

基本 jīběn (basic; fundamental) + 功 gōng (skill). The foundational skills of any discipline, the drills a beginner must master before anything else: scales for a musician, stances for a martial artist, strokes for a calligrapher. To 练基本功 (drill the fundamentals) is treated as the non-negotiable bedrock of mastery.

想学好武术，必须先练好基本功。

Xiǎng xuéhǎo wǔshù, bìxū xiān liànhǎo jīběngōng.

To master martial arts, you must first drill the fundamentals.

功能 gōngnéng Function & Efficacy

功能 gōngnéng function: capability of a thing

N 名词 míngcí

功 gōng (achievement; effect) + 能 néng (ability; capacity). The function or capability of a device, organ, or system, what it is able to do. Ubiquitous in technology and biology: 手机功能 = phone features, 多功能 = multifunctional, 功能强大 = powerful (rich in capability), 身体机能 / 器官功能 = bodily and organ function.

这款手机的功能非常强大。

Zhè kuǎn shǒujī de gōngnéng fēicháng qiángdà.

This phone's features are extremely powerful.

肝脏有解毒的功能。

Gānzàng yǒu jiědú de gōngnéng.

The liver has the function of detoxification.

功效 gōngxiào efficacy: the effect produced

N 名词 míngcí

功 gōng (effect) + 效 xiào (effect; result). The efficacy of a medicine, treatment, or method, the actual beneficial result it achieves. Especially common in medicine and traditional Chinese health: 这种药的功效很好 = this medicine is very effective. Close to 效果 xiàoguǒ (effect; result), but 功效 stresses the beneficial, intended power of something.

这种草药有清热解毒的功效。

Zhè zhǒng cǎoyào yǒu qīngrè jiědú de gōngxiào.

This herb has the efficacy of clearing heat and removing toxins.

武功 wǔgōng martial skill: fighting prowess

N 名词 míngcí

武 wǔ (martial; military) + 功 gōng (skill). Skill in the martial arts, the trained fighting ability central to wuxia fiction and film. 武功高强 = of formidable martial skill. 一身武功 = a whole body of fighting skill. The word also has a classical sense of military accomplishment, the deeds that win wars.

小说里的大侠武功高强。

Xiǎoshuō lǐ de dàxiá wǔgōng gāoqiáng.

The hero in the novel possesses formidable martial skill.

物理 wùlǐ · In Physics A separate technical sense: 做功 zuò gōng = to do work in the mechanical sense (force acting through distance). 功率 gōnglǜ = power (rate of doing work). Here 功 is the standard physics translation of work.

成语 chéngyǔ Idioms & Set Phrases

功成名就 gōng chéng míng jiù achievement complete and fame attained: to have made it Lit: merit-accomplished-name-attained. The classical picture of a fulfilled career: the work is done and the reputation is secured. Often paired with the idea of retiring gracefully afterward (功成身退, to withdraw once the work is achieved).

功亏一篑 gōng kuī yī kuì to fail for the lack of one final basketful: to fall short at the very end Lit: achievement-short-one-basket. From the image of building a mound and stopping one last basket of earth before completion. From the Book of Documents (尚书). The lesson: do not abandon a near-finished effort, or all the work before it is wasted.

事半功倍 shì bàn gōng bèi half the work, double the result: maximum output from minimum effort Lit: work-half-achievement-double. The ideal of efficiency: accomplishing more by working smarter. From Mencius (孟子). Its mirror image is 事倍功半 shì bèi gōng bàn (double the work, half the result), wasted, inefficient effort.

急功近利 jí gōng jìn lì eager for quick merit and near-term gain: shortsighted opportunism Lit: anxious-merit-near-profit. A criticism of those who chase immediate results and quick profit at the expense of long-term, sustainable success. The opposite of the 功夫 ethic of patient, foundational effort.

记忆法 jìyìfǎ · Master Retention Image

See 功 as a worker's arm (力) lifting at a workbench (工). Strength meets craft, and out of the meeting comes a result worth honoring. That single image holds every sense at once: the soldier whose strength wins a deed earns 功劳 (merit); the student whose strength is poured into years of practice builds 功夫 (skill); the machine or medicine whose strength accomplishes something measurable has 功能 and 功效 (function and efficacy).

The lesson the character itself teaches is patience. 功亏一篑 warns that strength withdrawn one basket short of the summit leaves nothing but a pile of earth, while 功夫不负有心人 promises that strength steadily applied always, in the end, pays back the one who applied it.