Meaning of 工资
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- wages; pay
Measure word: 份
How to use 工资
工资 is the everyday word for a salary or wages from a job, often paired with verbs like 发 (fā, to pay out), 涨 (zhǎng, to rise) and 拿 (ná, to receive). Example: 这个月的工资发了吗？(Zhège yuè de gōngzī fā le ma?) Has this month's pay come out yet?
工 (gōng) means work, and 资 (zī) has 贝 (bèi), the old shell symbol for money, at the bottom. Work plus money gives you 工资, the pay you get for your work.
Common mistake: Learners often say 付工资 when they mean the company pays salaries. That phrase exists, but 发工资 (fā gōngzī) is far more common. Also keep the tones level: both syllables are first tone, gōngzī, not gòngzì.
工资 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.
工 gōng · labor · 3 strokes
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资 zī · wealth · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 工资.
| 工作 | gōngzuò | to work; (of a machine) to operate |
| 工人 | gōngrén | worker |
| 打工 | dǎgōng | to work a temporary or casual job; (of students) to have a job outside of class time, or d |
| 工厂 | gōngchǎng | factory |
| 工具 | gōngjù | tool; instrument |
| 员工 | yuángōng | staff; personnel; employee |
| 资格 | zīgé | qualifications; seniority |
| 资金 | zījīn | funds; capital |
| 工程师 | gōngchéngshī | engineer |
| 工业 | gōngyè | industry |
| 人工 | réngōng | artificial; manpower |
| 加工 | jiāgōng | to process; processing |
Questions about 工资
What does 工资 mean?
工资 (gōngzī) means "wages; pay" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 工资?
工资 is made of 2 characters: 工 (3 strokes), 资 (10 strokes). That is 13 strokes in total.
Is 工资 an HSK word?
Yes. 工资 is on the HSK 3 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 工资 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 工资 is written 工資.
What is the difference between 工资 and 薪水?
Both mean salary. 工资 is the most common everyday word. 薪水 (xīnshui) sounds a bit more formal or written, and 薪资 (xīnzī) is common in job ads.
How do I ask someone how much they earn?
You can say 你的工资多少？(Nǐ de gōngzī duōshao?) What is your salary? Be aware that this is a personal question, so it is safer with close friends or family.