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务工 (wù gōng) — to work as a laborer (typically referring to rural migrants in cities)

Definition

务工 means to work as a laborer, typically a rural migrant taking manual jobs in cities. More specific and work-class focused than 打工 or 干活儿, which cover general work.

verb
to work as a laborer (typically referring to rural migrants in cities)

Examples

  • ，务工。
    Tā wèi le yǎng jiā, xuǎn zé qù nán fāng wù gōng.
    He chose to go south to work as a laborer to support his family.
  • 务工，。
    Hěn duō nián qīng rén bú zài yuàn yì wù gōng, ér shì xiǎng xué yì mén shǒu yì.
    Many young people are no longer willing to work as laborers; instead they want to learn a trade.
  • 务工，。
    wù gōng Suī rán xīn kǔ, dàn shōu rù bǐ zhòng dì gāo.
    Although working as a laborer is hard, the income is higher than farming.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

务wùengage in
工gōngwork

The sense of engaging in combines with work to mean taking up labor.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 務; 务 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lìstrength
Sound part声符shēngfú
敄
敄wù務wù
Same sound today

In the traditional form 務, 力 shows the sense of strength or effort, while 敄 gives the sound. The simplified 务 is a later shorthand.

Open 务 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 工 is a picture of a bladed tool used to plow ground or mark a border; some read it as a carpenter's square.

Open 工 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9

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