代劳 (dài láo) — to do something for someone (as a favor or in t…

Definition

代劳 means to do something on someone's behalf or as a favor, often used when stepping in for someone who is busy or unable to do it themselves.

verb

to do something for someone (as a favor or in their place)

，代劳。
Zhè diǎn xiǎo shì, jiù ràng wǒ lái dài láo ba.
This small matter — just let me take care of it for you.
，代劳。
Tā tài máng le, zhǐ hǎo qǐng tóng shì dài láo qù kāi huì.
He was too busy, so he had to ask a colleague to attend the meeting for him.
，代劳。
Jì rán nín bù fāng biàn, zhè jiàn shì wǒ jiù dài láo le ba.
Since it's inconvenient for you, I'll handle this matter instead.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

代dàisubstitute

代 means to substitute, and 劳 means labor; together they mean to do the labor in someone's place.

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.

亻弋代

Meaning part形符xíngfú

亻Written in full as人rénperson

Sound part声符shēngfú

弋

弋yì代dài

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

In 代, 亻 shows a person, and 弋 gives the sound.

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

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.

Appears in