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公案

Mandarin · pinyin gōng àn

judge's desk
complex legal case
contentious issue
koan (Zen Buddhism)

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Characters in this entry

公: gōng · fair, equitable; public; duke
案: àn · table, bench; legal case

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–4 · gong1 an4

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses

Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

noun

(law, literary) court table (used by a judge)
(law, figurative) complicated legal case
(figurative) much discussed issue; sensational affair
(Zen Buddhism) koan

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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