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帮工 (bāng gōng) — (v.o.) to help with farm work (as a temporary laborer)

Definition

帮工 is a verb-object phrase meaning to pitch in on farm work for a short period, usually as a hired hand in the countryside. The ‘工’ emphasizes paid manual labor, not just casual helping.

verb
(v.o.) to help with farm work (as a temporary laborer)

Examples

  • ，帮工。
    Nóng máng shí, tā bāng le jǐ tiān bāng gōng.
    During the busy farming season, he helped out for a few days.
  • 帮工。
    Cūn lǐ hěn duō rén yuàn yì qù bāng gōng.
    Many people in the village are willing to do farm work.
  • 帮工。
    Tā zài nóng chǎng bāng gōng le yí gè yuè.
    He worked as a farm helper for a month.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

帮bānghelp
工gōngwork

帮 means help and 工 means work, so together they describe helping with work.

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 幫; 帮 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
帛帛bósilk
Sound part声符shēngfú
封
封fēng幫bāng
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 帮's traditional form 幫, 帛 (silk) gives the meaning and 封 gives the sound; it originally named the upper part of a shoe.

Open 帮 →

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
Agriculture & FarmingProfessions & Jobs

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