公证
gōng zhèng · HSK 7
notarization
📜 公证 = public (公) + certify/prove (证) — public certification by a notary
公 means public/official; 证 means to certify or prove (as in 证明). Together: an official act of certification, i.e. notarization. The notary is the public authority that vouches for the document's validity.
公 — eight 八 + private 厶
Originally an ideograph showing 八 (to divide) over 厶 (private/self), depicting the act of splitting away from selfish interest. The combination came to mean 'public' or 'fair,' the opposite of private. It later extended to senses like 'duke,' 'lord,' and 'grandfather.'
证 — speech radical 讠 + 正 (correct/upright)
证 is a semantic-phonetic compound. The speech radical 讠 (言) signals it relates to words or testimony, while 正 (zhèng, 'upright/correct') gives the sound and hints at 'verifying truth.' Originally written 證, it meant to testify or prove; today it means evidence, certificate, or to prove.