包工头 (bāo gōng tóu) — labor contractor (especially in construction), subcontractor who manages workers on site

Definition

A 包工头 is a contractor who hires and manages crews of workers on a construction site — a person, not a company. The role is informal and grassroots; many started out as 工人 themselves.

noun
labor contractor (especially in construction), subcontractor who manages workers on site
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 包工头。
    Zhè ge bāo gōng tóu shǒu xià yǒu èr shí duō gè gōng rén.
    This labor contractor has over twenty workers under him.
  • 包工头。
    bāo gōng tóu Fù zé gěi gōng rén fā gōng zī.
    The labor contractor is responsible for paying the workers.
  • 包工头。
    Hěn duō bāo gōng tóu dōu shì cóng gōng rén zuò qǐ de.
    Many labor contractors started out as workers themselves.

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.

包工contracting work
包bāocontract工gōngwork
动宾Verb + object
头tóuchief

"包工" (contracting work) plus "头" (chief) names the chief of contracted work.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 包 pictures a fetus in a womb, or a baby wrapped in cloth.

Open 包 →

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 →

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 頭; 头 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yèhead
Sound part声符shēngfú
豆
豆dòu頭tóu
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 頭 shows 頁, meaning head, beside 豆 as a sound component; the simplified 头 is a later shorthand.

Open 头 →

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