dǎ gōng
do manual work
我在中国打工。
wǒ zài zhōngguó dǎgōng.
I work in China.
他去北京打工了。
tā qù běijīng dǎgōng le.
He went to Beijing to work.
我们都很努力地打工。
wǒmen dōu hěn nǔlì de dǎgōng.
We all work very hard.
做工 (zuò gōng)
work
上班 (shàng bān)
go to work
当老板 (dāng lǎobǎn)
be the boss
创业 (chuàngyè)
start a business
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The Chinese word 打工 (dǎgōng) is a compound word consisting of two characters: 打 (dǎ) and 工 (gōng). The character 打 (dǎ) has several meanings, including "to hit", "to strike", and "to work". The character 工 (gōng) means "work" or "labor". When combined, the two characters 打工 (dǎgōng) literally mean "to hit work" or "to strike work". However, in modern Chinese, the word 打工 has a more general meaning of "to work for wages" or "to do manual labor". It is often used to refer to temporary or part-time work, as opposed to full-time or professional work. The word 打工 is also sometimes used in a derogatory sense to refer to low-paying or menial jobs.
