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工作
gōngzuò
work
我每天工作八小时。
I work eight hours every day.
formal
An activity that a person does regularly to earn money; employment.
他在一家科技公司工作。
He works at a tech company.
找到一份好工作很重要。
Finding a good job is important.
In Chinese, '工作' can function as both a noun (job/work) and a verb (to work).
formal
A task or set of tasks to be undertaken; labor.
这个项目的工作量很大。
The workload for this project is heavy.
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Distinguishing verb and noun uses
'工作' can act as a verb (to work) or a noun (job/work). For example: '他工作很努力' (He works hard) vs. '他找到了一份新工作' (He found a new job). Pay attention to context and sentence structure to determine its role.
Gold Rule
Basic sentence patterns with '工作'
As a verb: Subject + 工作 + (time/place). Example: '她在医院工作' (She works at a hospital). As a noun: Subject + 有/找/做 + 工作. Example: '我需要找一份工作' (I need to find a job).
Word Origin
From Chinese 工 (gōng, 'labor/work') + 作 (zuò, 'to do/make'). The compound dates back to classical Chinese, where it originally meant 'manual labor' or 'craftsmanship'. Modern usage expanded to include any form of employment.
Usage Notes
'工作' is a versatile term in Chinese. As a verb, it can be used in sentences like '他在公司工作' (He works at a company). As a noun, it refers to a job or task, e.g., '这是一份好工作' (This is a good job). It is commonly used in both formal and informal contexts.
Word Breakdown
工
labor/work
root作
to do/make
root汉英词典