Meaning of 劳动
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- work
- toil
- physical labor
Measure word: 次
How to use 劳动
劳动 is used for work in general, and especially for physical or manual labor. It often appears in fixed terms like 劳动节 (Láodòng Jié, Labor Day) and 体力劳动 (tǐlì láodòng, physical labor). Example: 劳动创造财富。(Láodòng chuàngzào cáifù.) Labor creates wealth.
Both characters in 劳动 (láodòng) contain 力 (lì, strength), so picture someone using all their strength to keep moving. 劳 (láo) means toil and 动 (dòng) means move, so 劳动 is moving your body through hard work.
Common mistake: Learners often use 劳动 for their everyday job, as in 我去劳动, but for going to work you should say 上班 (shàngbān) or 工作 (gōngzuò). Also note that 劳 has a grass-like top with 冖 over 力, so do not confuse it with 努 (nǔ), which has 奴 over 力.
劳动 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.
劳 láo · to labor · 7 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
动 dòng · to move · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 劳动.
| 动作 | dòngzuò | movement; motion; action; to act; to move |
| 行动 | xíngdòng | operation; action |
| 动物 | dòngwù | animal |
| 活动 | huódòng | to exercise; to move about; to work out; shaky; unsteady; loose (tooth etc) |
| 运动 | yùndòng | to move; to exercise |
| 感动 | gǎndòng | to move (sb); to touch (sb emotionally) |
| 动物园 | dòngwùyuán | zoo |
| 发动 | fādòng | to start; to launch |
| 自动 | zìdòng | automatic; voluntarily |
| 主动 | zhǔdòng | to take the initiative; to do sth of one's own accord |
| 动力 | dònglì | motive power; (fig.) motivation; impetus |
| 推动 | tuīdòng | to push (e.g. for acceptance of a plan); to promote; to give impetus to |
Questions about 劳动
What does 劳动 mean?
劳动 (láodòng) means "work; toil" and is used as a verb and noun.
How do you write 劳动?
劳动 is made of 2 characters: 劳 (7 strokes), 动 (6 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 劳动 an HSK word?
Yes. 劳动 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 劳动 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 劳动 is written 勞動.
What is the difference between 劳动 and 工作?
工作 (gōngzuò) is the normal word for a job or for doing your work. 劳动 sounds more formal or ideological and stresses effort, often physical labor. You would say 我在银行工作, not 我在银行劳动.
Is 劳动 a verb or a noun?
It can be both. As a verb: 学生们在田里劳动 (the students are working in the fields). As a noun: 劳动很辛苦 (labor is hard), and in compounds like 劳动力 (láodònglì, labor force).