出工 (chū gōng) — to go to work, to show up for work (as a laborer or assigned worker)

Definition

出工 (chū gōng) means 'to go to work / show up for the shift' — used for laborers or assigned workers reporting on site, paired naturally with 收工 ('knock off').

verb
to go to workto show up for work (as a laborer or assigned worker)

Examples

  • 出工，。
    Tā jīn tiān méi chū gōng, zài jiā xiū xi.
    He didn't go to work today; he's resting at home.
  • 。
    Zhè ge yuè wǒ zhī chū le shí wǔ tiān gōng.
    This month I only went to work for fifteen days.
  • ，出工。
    Dà jiā dōu jí zhe shōu gōng, méi rén yuàn yì duō chū gōng.
    Everyone is eager to knock off; nobody wants to work extra.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

出chūgo out
工gōngwork

出 means go out, and 工 means work, so the word is going out to work.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

出 combines 止 (foot) and 凵 (cave) to show a foot stepping out of a cave.

Open 出 →

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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