怠工 (dài gōng) — to slack off (at work); to deliberately go slow…

Definition

Slowing or stopping work, usually as collective protest — related to 罢工 ('strike') but milder. Unlike 偷懒, 怠工 is organized, not personal laziness.

verb

to slack off (at work)to deliberately go slow as a form of protest (work slowdown)

怠工。
Tā zuì jìn jīng cháng zài bàn gōng shì dài gōng.
He often slacks off in the office lately.
，。
Gōng rén men dài le sān tiān gōng, kàng yì gōng zī tài dī.
The workers slacked off for three days to protest the low wages.
怠工，。
Zhè chǎng dài gōng shì gōng huì zǔ zhī de, yāo qiú gǎi shàn gōng zuò tiáo jiàn.
This slowdown was organized by the union to demand better working conditions.

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

怠dàislacken; neglect

怠 means to slacken or neglect and 工 is work, together describing going slow at 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.

台心怠

Meaning part形符xíngfú

心心xīnheart

Sound part声符shēngfú

台

Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

In 怠, the bottom 心 is heart, and 台 gives the sound.

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.

Appears in