供 (gōng): to provide; to supply

Meanings

1 to provide; to supply
2 to be for (the use of); to be used for

Characters

供

gōng

to supply; to provide

Left 亻 (person) + right 共 (together, shared) — a person sharing what they have with another, i.e. supplying.

Examples

我们公司提供优质的服务。

Wǒmen gōngsī tígōng yōuzhì de fúwù.

Our company provides excellent service.

这款产品供不应求，已卖光了。

Zhè kuǎn chǎnpǐn gōngbùyìngqiú, yǐ mài guāng le.

Supply cannot meet demand — this product has sold out.

北方城市冬天集中供暖。

Běifāng chéngshì dōngtiān jízhōng gōngnuǎn.

Heating in northern cities is centrally supplied in winter.

Tips

usage

gōng covers any 'supply / provide / make available' sense: 提供 (to offer), 供应 (to supply), 供给 (to furnish), 供水 / 供电 / 供暖 (water / power / heating), 月供 (monthly mortgage payment). For ritual offerings and legal confessions, switch to the gòng reading.

mistakes

供养 (to provide for one's elders / financially support) takes gōng; 供养 with the gòng reading means 'to make offerings to gods or ancestors'. Same characters, different reading, different sense — let context decide.

Components

radical

亻 rén

person (radical form)

Left indexing person-variant 亻 — anchors 供 as a person-to-person action: a provider supplying someone else, or (in the gòng reading) a worshipper offering to a deity. The human element is essential to both readings of the character.

phonetic

共 gòng

together; shared

Right component 共 — supplies the sound (gòng matches the gòng reading; gōng is just a tone shift) AND a perfect bonus meaning: together, shared. Supplying and offering both involve sharing what is yours with another. 共 itself depicts two hands holding up an object jointly.