贡 gòng to offer
to offer; to contribute; tribute
How to remember 贡: 工 work + 贝 sea shell = to offer. After a long day of work on the beach, the boy picks his prettiest sea shell to offer to the class collection.
Component breakdown
贡 = 工 work + 贝 sea shell
- 工 work
- 贝 sea shell
After a long day of work on the beach, the boy picks his prettiest sea shell to offer to the class collection.
How it is used
- To offer up/pay tribute; now almost only in 贡献 (gòngxiàn) = to contribute / a contribution.
- 作出贡献 (zuòchū gòngxiàn) to make a contribution - 为社会作出贡献 (wèi shèhuì zuòchū gòngxiàn) contribute to society.
- 贡献 works as both verb and noun; the original 'tribute' sense survives in 进贡 (jìngòng) to pay tribute to a ruler.