苦工

kǔgōng
noun #23,679

Meanings

  1. 1 hard labor
  2. 2 coolie
  3. 3 drudgery
  4. 4 forced or exhausting physical work

Examples

Tā cóngxiǎo jiù gān kǔgōng, liànjiùle yī shēn lìqi.
He did hard labor from a young age and built up great strength.
Zhè fèn gōngzuò bùguò shì kǔgōng, háo wú jìshù hánliàng.
This job is nothing but drudgery — it requires no skill whatsoever.

Tips

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苦工 can be used literally (physically exhausting labor) or figuratively (any thankless, repetitive task). The term 苦力 (coolie) is closely related but historically more specific to colonial-era forced or contract labor.

Stroke Order

gōng