Meaning of 人工
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- artificial
- manpower
- manual work
How to use 人工
人工 often comes before a noun to mean artificial or man-made, as in 人工智能 (réngōng zhìnéng) artificial intelligence. It can also mean human labor or manual handling, for example in customer service menus. Example: 这个湖是人工的。(Zhège hú shì réngōng de.) This lake is man-made.
人 (rén) is a person and 工 (gōng) is work. Work done by a person rather than by nature or a machine is 人工, so it means man-made, artificial, or manual.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes read 人工 as "worker" by analogy with 工人 (gōngrén). The order matters: 工人 is a worker, while 人工 is artificial or manual labor. Also keep the tones right: 人 is second tone and 工 is first tone, réngōng.
人工 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
人 rén · person · 2 strokes
- 1
- 2
工 gōng · labor · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
Related words
Words that share a character with 人工.
| 工作 | gōngzuò | to work; (of a machine) to operate |
| 女人 | nǚrén | woman |
| 男人 | nánrén | a man; a male |
| 别人 | biérén | other people; others; other person |
| 家人 | jiārén | family member; (old) servant |
| 病人 | bìngrén | sick person; patient |
| 工人 | gōngrén | worker |
| 老人 | lǎorén | old man or woman; the elderly |
| 有人 | yǒu rén | someone; people |
| 人们 | rénmen | people |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grownup |
| 客人 | kèrén | visitor; guest; customer |
Questions about 人工
What does 人工 mean?
人工 (réngōng) means "artificial; manpower" and is used as a noun and adjective.
How do you write 人工?
人工 is made of 2 characters: 人 (2 strokes), 工 (3 strokes). That is 5 strokes in total.
Is 人工 an HSK word?
Yes. 人工 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 人工 and 人造?
Both can mean man-made. 人造 (rénzào) usually describes manufactured materials or objects, like 人造皮 (fake leather). 人工 is broader and also covers human labor or human intervention, like 人工降雨 (artificial rain) or 人工服务 (service from a live person).
How do I ask for a real person on a Chinese phone line?
Automated menus often say 转人工服务 (zhuǎn réngōng fúwù), meaning transfer to a human agent. You can simply say 人工 or 我要转人工 (wǒ yào zhuǎn réngōng) to request one.