钟点工 (zhōng diǎn gōng) — hourly worker (typically live-out domestic help) | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

Hourly domestic helper paid by the hour, usually live-out and visiting on a schedule (e.g. for cleaning). Unlike 保姆 (live-in nanny or full-time caretaker), 钟点工 comes and goes by the clock.

noun

hourly worker (typically live-out domestic help)

Measure word · 个

Examples

钟点工。
Wǒ jiā měi zhōu qǐng zhōng diǎn gōng lái dǎ sǎo liǎng cì.
My family hires a hourly worker to clean twice a week.
钟点工，。
Tā zuò zhōng diǎn gōng yǐ jīng sān nián le, kè hù dōu duì tā hěn mǎn yì.
She has been working as a hourly domestic helper for three years, and all her clients are very satisfied.
钟点工。
Zhè ge jiā zhèng gōng sī tí gōng zhōng diǎn gōng hé bǎo mǔ liǎng zhǒng fú wù.
This housekeeping agency offers both hourly workers and live-in nannies.

Origin

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.

钟点

钟zhōngclock点diǎnpoint

偏正Modifier + head

钟 clock and 点 point give hour, and 工 worker names an hourly worker.

Characters in this word

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

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 點; 点 is its simplified writing.

黑占點

Meaning part形符xíngfú

黑黑hēiblack

Sound part声符shēngfú

占

占zhàn點diǎn(r)

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 點 pairs 黑 (black) with 占 for its sound; the simplified 点 is a later abbreviation.

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

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