劳工 (láo gōng) — laborer; worker | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

laborerworker

Measure word · 个

劳工。
láo gōng De quán yì yīng gāi dé dào bǎo hù.
The rights of workers should be protected.
劳工。
Zhè ge guó jiā yǒu hěn duō láo gōng cān jiā gōng huì.
Many laborers in this country join unions.
劳工。
láo gōng Měi tiān gōng zuò hěn cháng shí jiān.
Workers work long hours every day.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

“劳” means labor and “工” means worker, together a laborer.

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 勞; 劳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

𬡤

𬡤𬡤勞láo

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 勞 uses 力 for the meaning and 𬡤 for the sound; the simplified 劳 is a later shortened shape.

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.

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