# 公 — public; official

公 means “public; official”. It is a JLPT N3 kanji written with 4 strokes. On'yomi: コウ (kou). Kun'yomi: おおやけ (ooyake). You'll see it in words such as 公 (ooyake, “official; governmental”).

- Meaning: public; official
- On'yomi: コウ (kou)
- Kun'yomi: おおやけ (ooyake)
- Strokes: 4
- Level: JLPT N3 · set Society

## How to remember 公

Eight (八) elbows (ム) reaching out to share: what belongs to the public.

Parts: 八 eight; spreading legs · ム elbow; private

## Words with 公

| Word | Reading | Meaning |
| --- | --- | --- |
| 公 | おおやけ (ooyake) | official; governmental |

## Don't confuse it with

[分](https://moji.ninja/n5-kanji/part/) · [八](https://moji.ninja/n5-kanji/eight/) · [今](https://moji.ninja/n5-kanji/now/)

## More in the “Society” set

[部](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/section/) · [公](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/public/) · [団](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/group/) · [格](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/status/) · [局](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/bureau/) · [賞](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/prize/) · [様](https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/manner/)

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From Moji Ninja (https://moji.ninja/), a free app for learning hiragana, katakana and the JLPT kanji from N5 to N1 with spaced repetition. Page: https://moji.ninja/n3-kanji/public/. Last updated 2026-11-01.