‘Gōngsī’ means ‘company’ — a formal organization engaged in business, manufacturing, services, or trade. The character 公 (gōng) carries meanings like ‘public,’ ‘official,’ or ‘shared,’ while 司 (sī) originally meant ‘to manage’ or ‘to administer.’ Together, 公司 historically referred to an officially sanctioned administrative body; over time, it evolved to denote any registered commercial enterprise. It’s used broadly across sectors — from tech startups to multinational corporations — and appears in official names (e.g., ‘Apple Inc.’ is 苹果公司 in Chinese).

This term is neutral and standard in both spoken and written Mandarin. It’s commonly paired with modifiers indicating size (e.g., 大公司 ‘large company’), type (e.g., 外资公司 ‘foreign-invested company’), or function (e.g., 咨询公司 ‘consulting company’). Unlike colloquial terms like 企业 (qǐyè, ‘enterprise’) or more specific ones like 工厂 (gōngchǎng, ‘factory’), 公司 emphasizes legal registration and organizational structure.