Chinese word

公然

Pronunciation

Pinyingōng rán

Meaning

  • adverbopenly

Example

他在会议上公然反对这个提议。tā zài huì yì shàng gōng rán fǎn duì zhè ge tí yì

He openly opposed this proposal at the meeting.

Illustration for 公然 (openly)

More examples

他终于在记者面前公然承认了错误。tā zhōng yú zài jì zhě miàn qián gōng rán chéng rèn le cuò wù

He finally openly admitted his mistake in front of the reporters.

Core concept

An act placed plainly before everyone, with nothing kept out of sight.

Common phrases

  • 公然反对gōng rán fǎn duì

    openly oppose

  • 公然承认gōng rán chéng rèn

    openly admit

  • 公然宣扬gōng rán xuān yáng

    openly promote

Similar words

公开gōng kāi: Publicly, with information or actions made known instead of kept private.
当众dāng zhòng: In front of a group of people, with the action directly witnessed by them.
当面dāng miàn: Directly in another person's presence, with the action taking place face to face.
明目张胆míng mù zhāng dǎn: Brazenly and without shame, especially when openly carrying out something improper.

Definition in Chinese

在众人面前公开地、不加掩饰地做某事。zài zhòng rén miàn qián gōng kāi dì bù jiā yǎn shì dì zuò mǒu shì

Word origin

公 (gōng, "public") + 然 (rán, "in that way") combine to frame an action as public and free of concealment.

Usage tips

  • This adverb often adds a sense of boldness or defiance, so it is common when a speaker finds the visible action surprising, improper, or confrontational.

Opposites

Word lists with this word