gōngwùyuán

公务员

HSK 3Word · NounTraditional公務員

civil servant; public employee

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

2 senses · 5 examples
1.

noun

civil servant; public employee; government worker

formal

Refers to employees working in government administrative organs in Mainland China, who are selected through national or provincial civil service examinations.

Tā他
tōng通
guò过
kǎo考
shì试
chéng成
wéi为
le了
yī一
míng名
guó国
jiā家
gōng公
wù务
yuán员
 。

He became a national civil servant by passing the examination.

Gōng公
wù务
yuán员
de的
fú福
lì利
dài待
yù遇
tōng通
cháng常
bǐ比
jiào较
wěn稳
dìng定
 。

The benefits for civil servants are usually quite stable.

Show 1 more example
Xǔ许
duō多
dà大
xué学
shēng生
bì毕
yè业
hòu后
xī希
wàng望
bào报
kǎo考
gōng公
wù务
yuán员
 。

Many university graduates hope to take the civil service exam after graduation.

2.

noun

office attendant; janitor; clerk (in old usage)

archaic

This sense is now considered dated or historical. It referred to low-level support staff doing miscellaneous tasks.

Mín民
guó国
shí时
qī期
 ，
tā他
zài在
yín银
háng行
lǐ里
dāng当
gōng公
wù务
yuán员
 ，
zhǔ主
yào要
fù负
zé责
dǎ打
sǎo扫
hé和
pǎo跑
tuǐ腿
 。

During the Republican era, he worked as an office attendant in a bank, mainly responsible for cleaning and running errands.

Zhè这
xiē些
jiù旧
dàng档
àn案
lǐ里
tí提
dào到
de的
 '
gōng公
wù务
yuán员
 '
 ，
zhǐ指
de的
shì是
dāng当
shí时
de的
qín勤
zá杂
gōng工
 。

The 'office attendants' mentioned in these old archives refer to the janitors of that time.