TongTong
Sign in

辛劳 (xīn láo) — (n.) hard work; toil; (v.) to toil; to work hard

Definition

辛劳 (xīnláo) is a more literary, written-style word for 'hard work / toil,' stronger than 辛苦's everyday 'hardship' feel. As a verb it means 'to toil laboriously,' often paired with 一生 or 多年.

(n.) hard worktoil(v.) to toilto work hard

Examples

  • 。
    Tā wèi le jiā tíng xīn láo le yì shēng.
    He toiled for his family all his life.
  • 。
    Gǎn xiè nǐ duō nián de xīn láo.
    Thank you for your years of hard work.
  • 。
    Xīn láo zhōng yú huàn lái le chéng gōng.
    The toil finally brought success.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

辛xīnhardship
劳láolabor

辛 points to hardship and 劳 to labor, together conveying toil.

Characters in this word

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

The oldest forms of 辛 drew a newly grown tree shoot. The shape was later also read as a sharp marking tool, but that reading may come from confusing it with another character.

Open 辛 →

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 勞; 劳 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
力力lì
Sound part声符shēngfú
𬡤
𬡤𬡤勞láo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 勞 uses 力 for the meaning and 𬡤 for the sound; the simplified 劳 is a later shortened shape.

Open 劳 →
Appears in
Abstract Concepts

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.