控

kòng

扌 + 空

Definitions

kòng (verb) to control; to manage

kòng (verb) to accuse; to charge; to sue

kòng (noun) enthusiast; devotee

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 空 represents the sound.

Semantic: 扌 Phonetic: 空

About

控 is a phonosemantic compound consisting of the hand radical 扌 on the left, indicating an action involving the hands, and the phonetic 空 on the right, which disregards its usual meanings 'empty' or 'sky' to simply cue the pronunciation. The original meaning was 'to draw a bow', a physical action that inherently requires manual tension. This tangible image of controlling a taut bowstring later extended metaphorically to more abstract concepts: to control, dominate, manage, and, in legal usage, to accuse.

Etymology Hide

Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)

Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)

Traditional Modern

Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

我能控制这台机器。

Wǒ néng kòngzhì zhè tái jīqì.

I can control this machine.

司机控制了车速。

Sījī kòngzhì le chē sù.

The driver controlled the speed of the car.

他被指控偷窃。

Tā bèi zhǐkòng tōuqiè.

He was accused of theft.

公司控诉竞争对手。

Gōngsī kòngsù jìngzhēng duìshǒu.

The company sued its competitor.

政府调控经济政策。

Zhèngfǔ tiáokòng jīngjì zhèngcè.

The government regulates economic policies.

他是一个游戏控。

Tā shì yī gè yóuxì kòng.

He is a game addict.

如果你不能控制成本，项目就会失败。

Rúguǒ nǐ bù néng kòngzhì chéngběn, xiàngmù jiù huì shībài.

If you cannot control costs, the project will fail.

科学家通过实验严格控制变量。

Kēxuéjiā tōngguò shíyàn yángé kòngzhì biànliàng.

Scientists strictly control variables through experiments.

Related Characters

Component: 扌

Component: 空

控