HSK 5 · Work

劳动 láodòng “work” in Chinese

Traditional 勞動

What 劳动 means

  1. work
  2. toil
  3. physical labour

Measure word 次 cì · 一次劳动 yí cì láodòng

How to say 劳动

  • Pitch chart of the second tone: rises from mid to high, 3 to 5 on the five-level scale劳láo2nd tone, rising
  • Pitch chart of the fourth tone: falls from high to low, 5 to 1 on the five-level scale动dòng4th tone, falling

劳动 in a sentence

  1. 他在收获他的劳动果实。

    Tā zài shōuhuò tā de láodòng guǒshí.

    He is reaping the fruits of his labour.

    Sentence #10265160 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters

  2. 他不爱劳动。

    Tā bú ài láodòng.

    He doesn’t like hard work.

    Sentence #2052556 from Tatoeba · translation adapted

  3. 我不能做体力劳动。

    Wǒ bùnéng zuò tǐlì láodòng.

    I can’t do physical labour.

    Sentence #7752868 from Tatoeba · converted to simplified characters · translation adapted

How 劳动 is built

Each colour is one part of the character. Parts repeat across thousands of characters, so learning them makes new words easier. See all 214 in our radicals chart.

The character 劳 (láo) with each of its parts in a different colour
劳láoto toil; labour
  • 艹grass form of 艸 · cǎo
  • 冖cover · mì
  • 力strength · lì
The character 动 (dòng) with each of its parts in a different colour
动dòngto move
  • 云cloud · yún
  • 力strength · lìMeaning part

Memory aidStrength 力 makes things move. In the full form 動, 重 (zhòng) gave the sound.

How to write 劳动

劳 7 strokes · 动 6 strokes

Watch the order, then press Try writing it and draw each stroke in the grid. Each stroke is checked as you go.

劳动 (láodòng) stroke order chart: each stroke of the characters in the order you write them
Stroke order chart for 劳动 (láodòng). Red marks the next stroke, so you can copy it onto paper one step at a time.

Words related to 劳动

Words with 劳

疲劳píláo · tired劳驾láojià · excuse me勤劳qínláo · hardworking操劳cāoláo · to work hard功劳gōngláo · credit

Words with 动

动dòng · to move运动yùndòng · to exercise动物dòngwù · animal动物园dòngwùyuán · zoo运动员yùndòngyuán · athlete运动会yùndònghuì · sports meet活动huódòng · activity感动gǎndòng · to be moved激动jīdòng · excited动作dòngzuò · movement

More words: Work & Career

简历jiǎnlì · curriculum vitae (CV)结账jiézhàng · to pay the bill经营jīngyíng · to run (a business)开发kāifā · to develop老板lǎobǎn · boss利益lìyì · benefit领导lǐngdǎo · leader秘书mìshū · secretary

FAQs

劳动 (láodòng) means “work” or “toil”. It is an HSK 5 word.
Say it láodòng: láo with a 2nd tone, then dòng with a 4th tone. Press Listen at the top of this page to hear it, or Slowly to hear each tone clearly.
In Traditional characters, used in Taiwan and Hong Kong, 劳动 is written 勞動. The pronunciation is the same.
Use 次 (cì). For example, one work is 一次劳动 (yí cì láodòng).
Add a Chinese (Simplified) pinyin keyboard to your phone or computer, type laodong with no tone marks or spaces, then choose 劳动 from the suggestions. Typing laodong into this dictionary’s search box finds it too.
劳动 is an HSK 5 word in the HSK 2.0 word lists.

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Sources: meaning and pinyin checked by a native Mandarin teacher against the official HSK lists. Extra meanings from CC-CEDICT (CC BY-SA 4.0). Example sentences from Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR). Character parts and stroke order from Make Me a Hanzi.