共

共 (Kangxi radical 12, 八+4, 6 strokes, cangjie input 廿金 (TC), four-corner 4480₁, composition ⿱龷八)

1. Shuowen Jiezi radical №64

• 供 㓋 哄 垬 娂 㤨 拱 洪 𤞒 䧆 晎 栱 㬴 烘 珙 䀧 硔 粠 舼 𧋄 鿁(䜤) 谼 輁 鉷(𫟹) 𧶯 䱋 䢼 䳍 巷 恭 拲 㭟 㳟 蛬 輂 䢽 𢩉 烡 異 粪 巽 髸 龔(龚) 衖 閧 鬨 𢮪 𨂚 𦜞 殿 蕻

• 暴 殿

• KangXi: page 127, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 1458
• Dae Jaweon: page 283, character 6
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 243, character 2
• Unihan data for U+5171

Historical forms of the character 共
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)	Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts
Bronze inscriptions b03459 b03460 b03461 b03462 b03463 b03464 b03465 b03466 b03467 b03468 b03469 b03470 b03471 Small seal script s01989 Transcribed ancient scripts L35581 L35582 L19017 L19018 L19019 L19020 L19021 L19022
References: Mostly from Richard Sears' Chinese Etymology site (authorisation), which in turn draws data from various collections of ancient forms of Chinese characters, including: Shuowen Jiezi (small seal), Jinwen Bian (bronze inscriptions), Liushutong (Liushutong characters) and Yinxu Jiaguwen Bian (oracle bone script).

Ideogrammic compound (會意／会意) : 廾 (“two hands”) + 口 (“an object”) – holding up an object with two hands. Eventually 口 (not “mouth”) came to be written 廿 (not “twenty”), which later fused with 廾 to form the modern 共.

Possibly the original form of 供 (“to provide; to offer”).

Etymology not clear. An OC medial *r should be assumed if related to 恭 and 龔. CVST 5: 57 relates this word to Western Tibetan ’kʰyoŋ-ba, kʰyoŋs ‘to bring’, WB kuiŋ ‘take hold of, apply hand’. An allofam may perhaps be 貢.

共

1. common

   共識／共识  ―  gòngshí  ―  common understanding; consensus

2. together

   共進晚餐／共进晚餐  ―  gòng jìn wǎncān  ―  to have dinner together

   • 興起！地上大小邦，響應諸天共頌揚 [MSC, trad.]
     兴起！地上大小邦，响应诸天共颂扬 [MSC, simp.]

     From: 1984, translation edited by 滕近輝 [Philip Teng] and 何統雄 [Richard Ho], 天使報信 [Hark! the Herald Angels Sing], in 《生命聖詩》 [Hymns of Life]

     Xīngqǐ! Dìshang dà xiǎo bāng, Xiǎngyìng zhūtiān gòng sòngyáng [Pinyin]

     Joyful, all ye nations, rise, Join the triumph of the skies [Original English lyrics]
     Rise up! nations of the earth, big and small, Sing praises together in response to the skies [Literal English translation]

3. to share
4. altogether

   我前後共買了五雙鞋。 [MSC, trad.]
   我前后共买了五双鞋。 [MSC, simp.]

   Wǒ qiánhòu gòng mǎi le wǔ shuāng xié. [Pinyin]

   From beginning to end, I altogether bought five pairs of shoes.

5. Short for 共產黨／共产党 (gòngchǎndǎng, “communist party”).

   反共  ―  fǎngòng  ―  anti-communist

   1. (specifically) the Communist Party of China

      國共／国共  ―  guógòng  ―  Kuomintang and the Communist Party of China

6. (literary or dialectal) and

   • 蜆肉桶肚裡全係坭共水 [Cantonese, trad.]
     蚬肉桶肚里全系泥共水 [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 1828, Robert Morrison, Vocabulary of the Canton Dialect, part III, section XII

     hin² juk⁶ tung² tou⁵ leoi⁵ cyun⁴ hai⁶ nai⁴ gung⁶ seoi² [Jyutping]

     A muscle cask, a belly (or mind) full of nothing but mud and water.

   • 唐人有𢬿牛乳共糖嚟攪茶有冇呢 [Cantonese, trad.]
     唐人有𢬿牛乳共糖嚟搅茶有冇呢 [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 1841, Elijah Coleman Bridgman, Chinese Chrestomathy in the Canton Dialect, page 181

     tong⁴ jan⁴ jau⁵ kaai⁵ ngau⁴ jyu⁵ gung⁶ tong⁴ lai⁴ gaau² caa⁴ jau⁵ mou⁵ ne¹ [Jyutping]

     Do the Chinese use milk and sugar with their tea?

7. (literary or Min Dong, Hokkien) with; to

   我共你講。／我共你讲。 [Hokkien]  ―  Góa kā lí kóng. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  I tell you.

   • 死蔭幽谷中，祢伴我過渡，歡欣裡，風光裡祢共我同在 [Literary Cantonese, trad.]
     死荫幽谷中，祢伴我过渡，欢欣里，风光里祢共我同在 [Literary Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 鄧婉玲, lyrics by 西伯, 全因為祢

     sei² jam³ jau¹ guk¹ zung¹, nei⁴ bun⁶ ngo⁵ gwo³ dou⁶, fun¹ jan¹ leoi⁵, fung¹ gwong¹ leoi⁵ nei⁴ gung⁶ ngo⁵ tung⁴ zoi⁶ [Jyutping]

     (please add an English translation of this example)

8. (Min Dong, Hokkien, dated in Cantonese) for

   共我開門。／共我开门。 [Hokkien]  ―  Kā góa khui-mn̂g. [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  Open the door for me.

   • 你共我呌個木匠黎 [Cantonese, trad.]
     你共我叫个木匠黎 [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 1828, Robert Morrison, Vocabulary of the Canton Dialect, part III, section I

     nei⁵ gung⁶ ngo⁵ giu³ go³ muk⁶ zoeng⁶ lai⁴ [Jyutping]

     You for me call a carpenter.

9. (Hokkien) Used in imperative sentences for emphasis

   你共我會記咧！ [Hokkien, trad.]
   你共我会记咧！ [Hokkien, simp.]

   Lí kā góa ē kì leh! [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]

   Remember this!

10. (Min Dong, Hokkien) Particle introducing the object of the verb

    共伊放袂記／共伊放袂记 [Hokkien]  ―  kā i pàng bē-kì [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  Forget about him.

11. (Zhangzhou and Taiwanese Hokkien) same

    共款 [Hokkien]  ―  kāng-khoán [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  the same

    無共／无共 [Hokkien]  ―  bô-kāng [Pe̍h-ōe-jī]  ―  not the same; different

• (and):

• (for):

• (particle introducing the object of the verb):

共

1. a surname

共

1. ^† Alternative form of 供 (gōng, “to provide”).
2. ^† Alternative form of 恭 (gōng, “respectful”).
3. ^† Alternative form of 宮／宫 (gōng, “castration (as punishment)”).

共

1. ^† Alternative form of 拱 (gǒng, “to fold the hands in front of the breast; to surround”).

• “共”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學／香港中文大学 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

1. together
2. both
3. all
4. with
5. co-

• Go-on: く (ku); くう (kū)
• Kan-on: きょう (kyō, Jōyō)
• Kan’yō-on: ぐ (gu)
• Kun: とも (tomo, 共, Jōyō)

• Kun’yomi
• (Tokyo) とも [tòmó] (Heiban – [0])[1]
• (Tokyo) と​も [tóꜜmò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [to̞mo̞]

共(とも) • (tomo) 

1. both, all

共(きょう) • (kyō-) 

1. co-

共(とも) • (-tomo) 

1. altogether
2. ...included

   送(そう)料(りょう)共(とも)

   sōryō-tomo

   including shipping fees, including postage

• 込(こみ) (komi)

共(ども) • (-domo) 

1. indicates plural

Affixing 共 to oneself indicates humbleness. Affixing 共 to other people is disrespectful compared to 達 (たち, -tachi).

• 達(たち) (tachi)

• 其(そ)れ共(とも) (soretomo)
• 共(とも)食(ぐ)い (tomogui)
• 共(とも)に (tomo ni)
• 共(とも)稼(かせ)ぎ (tomokasegi)

共 (eumhun 함께 공 (hamkke gong))

1. Hanja form^? of 공 (“common; together”).

• 공산주의 (共産主義, gongsanjuui)
• 공산주의자 (共産主義者, gongsanjuuija)
• 공동체 (共同體, gongdongche)
• 공통점 (共通點, gongtongjeom)
• 반공 (反共, ban'gong)

共: Hán Việt readings: cung, cộng, củng
共: Nôm readings: cùng, cũng, cọng, cụng, gọng

1. chữ Hán form of cộng (“to add; plus”).
2. Nôm form of cùng (“with, and; same”).

• Thiều Chửu : Hán Việt Tự Điển Hà Nội 1942
• Trần Văn Chánh: Từ Điển Hán Việt NXB Trẻ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999
• Vũ Văn Kính: Đại Tự Điển Chữ Nôm, NXB Văn Nghệ, Ho Chi Minh Ville, 1999