劳顿 (Láo dùn) — fatigued, exhausted

Definition

A written/literary adjective meaning 'fatigued, exhausted' from travel or sustained effort. More formal and literary than the everyday 累, with a stronger sense of weariness from a long ordeal.

adjective
fatiguedexhausted

Examples

  • ，劳顿。
    Jīng guò cháng tú lǚ xíng, wǒ gǎn dào fēi cháng Láo dùn.
    After a long journey, I felt very fatigued.
  • ，劳顿。
    Lián xù gōng zuò le shí jǐ gè xiǎo shí, tā xiǎn de shí fēn Láo dùn.
    After working continuously for over ten hours, he looked extremely exhausted.
  • 劳顿。
    Tā yīn wèi zhào gù shēng bìng de mǔ qīn ér shēn xīn Láo dùn.
    She was physically and mentally exhausted from taking care of her sick mother.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

劳láotoil
顿dùnfatigue

The 劳 (toil) and 顿 (fatigue) together describe being worn out.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 頓; 顿 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
屯
屯tún頓dùn
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頓 combines 屯, drawn as a kneeling person's head, with 頁, and expresses a bow or kowtow. The simplified 顿 replaces 頁 with 页.

Open 顿 →

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