gōng lǐ
kilometre
我家离学校只有一公里。
wǒ jiā lí xuéxiào zhǐyǒu yī gōnglǐ.
My home is only one kilometer away from school.
我每天跑步五公里。
wǒ měitiān pǎobù wǔ gōnglǐ.
I run five kilometers every day.
北京到上海的距离是1200公里。
běijīng dào shànghǎi de jùlí shì 1200 gōnglǐ.
The distance from Beijing to Shanghai is 1200 kilometers.
千米 (qiān mǐ)
kilometer
公里 (gōng lǐ)
kilometer
英里 (yīng lǐ)
mile
千米 (qiān mǐ)
kilometer
Track your progress, master characters, and achieve your Chinese language goals.
Get Started Free
The Chinese word 公里 (gōnglǐ) for "kilometer" is a compound of two characters: 公 (gōng), meaning "public" or "common", and 里 (lǐ), meaning "mile". The character 里 originally referred to a Chinese unit of distance equal to about half a kilometer, but it was later adopted to refer to the metric kilometer. The character 公 was added to indicate that the kilometer is a public or international unit of measurement.The word 公里 was first used in China in the late 19th century, when the country began to adopt the metric system. It is now the standard unit of distance in China and is used in a variety of contexts, including transportation, geography, and engineering.The etymology of the word 公里 provides insights into the history of measurement and the adoption of international standards in China. It also highlights the importance of understanding the meaning and origin of Chinese characters in order to fully comprehend the language.
