How to Write 攻 (gōng) — Meaning “to attack; to study”

Imagine a worker (工) hitting a punching bag with a hand (攵) — that is 'attacking' the bag. Or think of a student working hard (工) at their desk, hitting the books (攵). This links the two parts to both meanings: attack and study.

Write the left part 工 with the horizontal strokes slightly longer than the middle vertical stroke, then add the right part 攵. The right part has four strokes: a short left-falling stroke (丿), a horizontal stroke, then a long right-falling stroke (捺), and finally a tap (丶) — make sure the 捺 extends to the right, not crossing into the left part.

攻 (gōng) has the 'strike' radical 攵 and means 'to attack/study.' 收 (shōu) has 攵 on the left and a different right part (丩), meaning 'to receive' or 'to collect.' 攸 (yōu) uses a different radical (亻 on left and 攵 on right), meaning 'distant' or 'slow.' Visually, 攻 is balanced left-right, while 收 has a narrower left side.

Use 攻 for physical attacks (攻击, 进攻) in military or sports contexts, and for intensive study (攻读) in academic settings. It appears in phrases like '进攻是最好的防守' (offense is the best defense). The dual meaning reflects the Chinese idea that 'attacking' a difficult subject requires the same determination as a military assault.

Common words containing 攻 include: 攻击 (gōng jī) — to attack; assault; 进攻 (jìn gōng) — To attack / Offensive; 攻读 (gōng dú) — to major in; to study hard.