贡 gòng to offer
to offer; to contribute; tribute
怎么记住“贡”: 工 work + 贝 sea shell = to offer. After a long day of work on the beach, the boy picks his prettiest sea shell to offer to the class collection.
部件结构
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
贡 = 工 work + 贝 sea shell
- 工 work sound
- 贝 sea shell meaning
After a long day of work on the beach, the boy picks his prettiest sea shell to offer to the class collection.
How it came to be
The shell gives the meaning and the work part the sound.
用法
- To offer up/pay tribute; now almost only in 贡献 (gòngxiàn) = to contribute / a contribution.
- 作出贡献 (zuòchū gòngxiàn) to make a contribution: 为社会作出贡献 (wèi shèhuì zuòchū gòngxiàn) contribute to society.
- 贡献 works as both verb and noun; the original 'tribute' sense survives in 进贡 (jìngòng) to pay tribute to a ruler.