苦役 (kǔ yì) — hard labor; penal servitude

Definition

Formal/literary term for forced or punitive hard labor, typically as a criminal sentence. Pair with the verb 从事 ('to engage in') or bear as 承受苦役.

noun

hard laborpenal servitude

苦役。
Tā bèi pàn le shí nián kǔ yì.
He was sentenced to ten years of hard labor.
，苦役。
Zài zhè ge gōng dì, gōng rén měi tiān dōu yào cóng shì kǔ yì.
At this construction site, workers have to do hard labor every day.
苦役。
Nà xiē qiú fàn měi tiān dōu yào chéng shòu chén zhòng de kǔ yì.
Those prisoners have to endure heavy hard labor every day.

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.

苦kǔhard or painful

役yìlabor or service

苦, hard or painful, combines with 役, labor or service, to mean penal servitude.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艸艸cǎograss

Sound part声符shēngfú

古

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

The top 艸 shows grass or plants, matching the sense of bitter plants. The bottom 古 gives the sound.

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

彳殳役

役 pairs 彳 (movement) with 殳 (a weapon like a spear) to show someone moving with a weapon to guard a border, giving the idea of a duty or task.