gōng bow

Made with 3 strokes.
Picture of a bow

Sounds same

gōng (work) gōng (palace) gōng (public) gōng (accomplishment) gōng (to provide)

Different tone

gǒng (two hands) gòng (common)


Index 57 used in: dì (younger brother) ; fú (not) ; jiāng (border) ; qiáng (strong) ; yí (barbarians) ; zhāng ('of')

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stroke order for 弓
Stroke order for character 弓, kindly provided under Wikimedia creative commons license


杯弓蛇影 bēi gōng shé yǐng Suspicious and frightened; plagued by fearful imagination. The story is of a man who was terrified by the sight of what he thought was a snake swimming in the cup of tea he was drinking. The experience made him ill and only when it was demonstrated that it was just the reflection of a bow left hanging on the wall did he recover.
鸟尽弓藏 niǎo jìn gōng cáng Having completed a job and then being out of employment. To get rid of someone once they have served their purpose. To have served your purpose.
惊弓之鸟 jīng gōng zhī niǎo Someone who is easily frightened especially if triggered by a previous bad experience. The story is of a great archer who claimed he could shoot a goose out of the sky without releasing an arrow. He then twanged the bow and a goose did fall to the ground. The goose showed signs of a previous arrow injury and had died of fright.


gōng bow