脏活 (zàng huó) — physically dirty work, menial labor; (figurative) dirty work, unpleasant or ethically questionable tasks

Definition

脏活 (zānghuó) covers two related senses: literally menial, physically dirty work, and figuratively the unpleasant or ethically shady tasks nobody wants — the 'dirty work' of an organization.

noun
physically dirty workmenial labor(figurative) dirty workunpleasant or ethically questionable tasks

Examples

  • 脏活
    Tā měi tiān dōu zuò zàng huó.
    He does dirty work every day.
  • 脏活
    Méi rén xiǎng zuò zhè ge zàng huó.
    No one wants to do this dirty work.
  • 脏活
    Xǐ cè suǒ shì zàng huó zhī yī.
    Cleaning the toilet is one kind of dirty work.

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