TongTong
Sign in

劳作 (láo zuò) — (noun) manual labor, physical work; (verb) to do manual work, to labor physically

Definition

Literary/formal word for manual physical labor, used in writing about farming, fieldwork, or craftsmanship rather than everyday speech. As a verb, it means to do such work.

noun
manual laborphysical work
verb
to do manual workto labor physically
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 劳作。
    Nóng mín men měi tiān zài tián lǐ láo zuò.
    The farmers work in the fields every day.
  • 劳作。
    Zhè zhǒng láo zuò fēi cháng xīn kǔ.
    This kind of manual labor is very hard.
  • 劳作，。
    Jīng guò yì tiān de láo zuò, tā gǎn dào hěn lèi.
    After a day of manual work, he felt very tired.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

劳láotoil
作zuòwork

劳 means toil and 作 means work, so together they refer to physical labor.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 勞; 劳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lì
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.

Open 劳 →

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
亻Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
乍
乍zhà作zuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left side 亻 comes from 人, meaning 'person', and the right side 乍 gives the sound.

Open 作 →
Appears in
Professions & Jobs

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.