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劳驾 (láo jià) — excuse me (used to politely ask for a favor or to get someone's attention)

Definition

A polite, slightly formal 'excuse me' used to ask a favor of a stranger, not to apologize. Lighter than 对不起 (which is an apology); 请问 is for asking questions, not requesting help.

verb
excuse me (used to politely ask for a favor or to get someone's attention)

Examples

  • 劳驾。
    láo jià Nín bāng wǒ bǎ zhè ge xiāng zi bān yí xià.
    Excuse me, could you help me move this box?
  • 劳驾。
    láo jià Nín gào sù wǒ dào jī chǎng zěn me zǒu.
    Excuse me, could you tell me how to get to the airport?
  • 劳驾。
    láo jià Nín dì gěi wǒ nà běn shū.
    Excuse me, would you mind passing me that book?

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

劳láotrouble
驾jiàcarriage

劳 expresses troubling, and 驾 refers to the person addressed; together it politely asks for help.

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
力力lì
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.

Open 劳 →

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 駕; 驾 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
馬馬mǎ
Sound part声符shēngfú
加
加jiā駕jià
Same sound today

In the traditional form 駕, 馬 relates to a horse, and 加 gives the sound; this story is about 駕, not the simplified 驾.

Open 驾 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 5Greetings & Politeness

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