‘供应’ (gōng yìng) is a verb meaning ‘to supply’ or ‘to provide’, especially in formal, institutional, or large-scale contexts — such as government services, business operations, or ecological systems. The first character 供 (gōng) means ‘to offer’ or ‘to provide’, often with connotations of meeting a need; the second character 应 (yìng) means ‘to respond’ or ‘to meet (a demand)’. Together, they emphasize fulfilling a requirement reliably and systematically — not just a one-time act, but an ongoing, organized provision.

This word frequently appears in discussions about resources, infrastructure, and sustainability: for example, food supply chains, medical supplies during emergencies, or ecological balance where predators and prey ‘supply’ each other’s population control. It is commonly used in written Chinese and formal speech, and often pairs with nouns like ‘food’, ‘water’, ‘electricity’, or ‘medical equipment’. Unlike the more casual ‘提供’ (tígōng), ‘供应’ implies scale, consistency, and functional necessity.