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打零工 (dǎ líng gōng) — to do odd jobs, to work part-time (temporary)

Definition

打零工 means to pick up informal, temporary gigs for pay — often casual, day-by-day work rather than a steady job. The verb split is 打…零工, so it's natural to insert a measure phrase (打了一份零工) or a place (在国内打零工).

verb
to do odd jobsto work part-time (temporary)

Examples

  • 打零工。
    Tā zuì jìn zài dǎ líng gōng zhuàn qián.
    He has been making money by doing odd jobs recently.
  • 。
    Tā dǎ le yí fèn líng gōng.
    He did a temporary gig.
  • 打零工。
    Shǔ jià tā dào chù dǎ líng gōng.
    He did odd jobs everywhere during summer break.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

打dǎdo
零工odd job
零língodd工gōngwork
偏正Modifier + head

打 is doing, 零 means odd or irregular, and 工 is work; together they mean doing odd jobs.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
扌Written in full as手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
丁
丁dīng打dǎ
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

打 uses 扌, a hand, to show an action done with the hand, and 丁 to give the sound.

Open 打 →

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
雨雨yǔrain
Sound part声符shēngfú
令
令lìng零líng
Same sound today

In 零, the 雨 part depicts thick raindrops falling from the sky; the 令 part gives the sound.

Open 零 →

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
Professions & Jobs

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