长工 (cháng gōng) — (noun, historical) long-term hired farm laborer (in pre-modern China)

Definition

长工 (chángōng) is a historical term for a long-term hired farm laborer who lived on the employer's land year-round, unlike a 短工 (seasonal/daily laborer). The character 长 here means 'long-term,' not the common 'long' or 'grow.'

noun
(noun, historical) long-term hired farm laborer (in pre-modern China)
Measure word · 个
Easily confused

Examples

  • 长工。
    Yǐ qián hěn duō cháng gōng zài dì lǐ gàn huó.
    In the past, many long-term hired hands worked in the fields.
  • 长工。
    Zhè ge cháng gōng měi tiān cóng zǎo dào wǎn dōu zài gōng zuò.
    This long-term hired hand worked from morning till night every day.
  • ，长工。
    Yǔ duǎn gōng xiāng bǐ, cháng gōng de gōng zuò gèng wěn dìng.
    Compared to short-term laborers, long-term hired hands had more stable work.

Origin

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.

长chánglong-term
工gōngworker

长 means long-term, and 工 means worker, giving a long-term hired laborer.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 長; 长 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 長 pictures an old man with long hair. The simplified 长 is a later shorthand, so its strokes do not show that original picture.

Open 长 →

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 →

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