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女工 (nǚ gōng) — female worker (especially in factories or manual labor); needlework; sewing

Definition

A compound of 女 ('female') + 工 ('worker'): a woman worker, typically in factories or manual labor. The same spelling also means 'needlework/sewing' as a skill, not a person.

noun
female worker (especially in factories or manual labor)needleworksewing
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 女工。
    Zhè jiā gōng chǎng de nǚ gōng men gōng zuò fēi cháng nǔ lì.
    The female workers in this factory work very hard.
  • 女工，。
    Tā cóng xiǎo jiù gēn mǔ qīn xué xí nǚ gōng, shǒu yì hěn hǎo.
    She learned needlework from her mother since childhood and is very skilled.
  • ，女工。
    Mín guó shí qī, xǔ duō nǚ gōng zài fǎng zhī chǎng lǐ gōng zuò.
    During the Republic of China period, many female workers worked in textile factories.

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.

女nǚwoman
工gōngwork/worker

女 (woman) and 工 (work/worker) mean a female worker or women's work.

Characters in this word

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

女 shows a woman with folded arms, kneeling or standing. In the modern form the figure faces right, and the small enclosed part is what is left of one arm.

Open 女 →

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 →
Appears in
Industry & ManufacturingProfessions & Jobs

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