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罢工 (bà gōng) — to go on strike, to strike

Definition

罢工 is a formal verb meaning workers collectively stop work to press demands, often used in news and reports. Distinct from 打 or 打击 (physical hitting/attacks) and from 怠工 (a slowdown rather than a full stop).

verb
to go on striketo strike

Examples

  • 罢工，。
    Gōng rén men jué dìng bà gōng, yāo qiú tí gāo gōng zī.
    The workers decided to go on strike, demanding higher wages.
  • 。
    Zhè jiā gōng chǎng de gōng rén yǐ jīng bà liǎo liǎng cì gōng le.
    The workers at this factory have already gone on strike twice.
  • 罢工，。
    bà gōng Chí xù le zhěng zhěng yì zhōu, gōng sī zhōng yú ràng bù le.
    The strike lasted a whole week, and the company finally gave in.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

罢bàstop
工gōngwork

罢 means stop and 工 means work, so it means to stop working.

Characters in this word

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 罷; 罢 is its simplified writing.

The story is about the traditional form 罷: 网 (a net) and 能 are placed together to show catching a bear with a net. The simplified 罢 is a later abbreviation.

Open 罢 →

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
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Workplace & Office

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