包工头

包工頭
bāogōngtóu
noun #36,727

Measure Word

Meanings

  1. 1 labor contractor (esp. on construction sites)
  2. 2 foreman who hires and pays workers

Examples

Bāogōngtóu tuōqiàn le míngōng sān ge yuè gōngzī.
The labor contractor owed the migrant workers three months of wages.
Tā zài gōngdì dāng bāogōngtóu, shǒuxià yǒu èrshí duō rén.
He works as a labor contractor at the site, with more than twenty people under him.

Tips

culture
包工头 is a recurring figure in Chinese news about migrant workers (农民工 nóngmíngōng) and unpaid wages — the contractor takes a project, hires day laborers, and is often blamed for withholding pay around Chinese New Year.
memory
Parse it as (to take on / contract) + (work) + (head/leader): 'the head guy who contracts the work'.

Stroke Order

bāo
gōng
tóu