干活 (gàn huó) — to work (on a job), to do manual labor | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

干活 (gàn huó) means 'to do manual labor / physical work' — more concrete and colloquial than 工作 (general 'work'). Often used for hands-on labor like building or farming.

verb

to work (on a job)to do manual labor

Examples

干活。
Tā měi tiān dōu qù gōng dì shàng gàn huó.
He goes to the construction site to work every day.
，。
Wǒ jīn tiān gān le yì tiān de huó, lèi huài le.
I worked a whole day today and I'm exhausted.
。
Zán men xiān gàn wán huó zài xiū xi ba.
Let's finish the work first and then rest.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

干 means to do and 活 means work, so doing work.

Characters in this word

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

Sound part声符shēngfú

倝

倝gàn乾gān

Same sound today

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú

氵Written in full as水shuǐwater

Sound part声符shēngfú

𠯑

𠯑𠯑活huó

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

活 is built from 氵 (water) and 𠯑, which shows the sound; 𠯑 later changed into 舌.

Appears in

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