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活儿 (huó er) — work, job, labor (colloquial)

Definition

活儿 (huó er) means 'work / a job' in colloquial, everyday speech — not a career or profession, but the tasks or paid piece-work someone does. Compare with 工作 (gōngzuò), which is the neutral, broader word for work in general.

noun
workjoblabor (colloquial)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 活儿。
    Wǒ měi tiān dōu yǒu hěn duō huó er yào zuò.
    I have a lot of work to do every day.
  • 活儿。
    Tā zuì jìn zài zhǎo xīn de huó er.
    He's been looking for a new job recently.
  • 活儿！
    Zhè ge huó er zuò dé zhēn piào liang!
    This work is really beautifully done!

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

活huówork
儿ércolloquial thing

活 refers to work or making a living, while 儿 gives it a colloquial, thing-like sense.

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
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.

Open 活 →

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

The shape 儿 is a simple drawing of a standing person, used as an alternate form of the character for person.

Open 儿 →
Appears in
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