勞動

See also: 勞働, 労働, and 劳动

Chinese

	toil	to move; to change; to use to move; to change; to use; to act
trad. (勞動)	勞	動
simp. (劳动)	劳	动
alternative forms	勞働 rare

Etymology

Attestable in pre-Qin texts in the sense, "to do (physical) exercise" and "physical work; toil", and in literary Chinese as an expression of politeness.

Pronunciation 1

Mandarin
(Pinyin): láodòng

(Zhuyin): ㄌㄠˊ ㄉㄨㄥˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): lou⁴ dung⁶
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): lò-thung
Eastern Min (BUC): lò̤-dông
Puxian Min (Pouseng Ping'ing): lor² dorng⁵
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): lô-tōng / lô͘-tǒng

(Teochew, Peng'im): lao⁵ dong⁶
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁶lau-don₆

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: láodòng
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˊ ㄉㄨㄥˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: láodòng
  - Wade–Giles: lao²-tung⁴
  - Yale: láu-dùng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: laudonq
  - Palladius: лаодун (laodun)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɑʊ̯³⁵ tʊŋ⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: lou⁴ dung⁶
  - Yale: lòuh duhng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: lou⁴ dung⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: lou⁴ dung⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lou̯²¹ tʊŋ²²/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: lò-thung
  - Hakka Romanization System: lo^ˇ tung
  - Hagfa Pinyim: lo² tung⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /lo¹¹ tʰuŋ⁵⁵/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: lò̤-dông
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /l̃o⁵³⁻²¹ ^(t-)louŋ²⁴²/
Puxian Min
- (Putian)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: lor² dorng⁵ [Phonetic: lor⁴ lorng⁵]
  - Báⁿ-uā-ci̍: ló̤-dō̤ng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɒ¹³⁻⁴² ^(t-)lɒŋ¹¹/
- (Xianyou)
  - Pouseng Ping'ing: lor² dorng⁵ [Phonetic: lor⁴ lorng⁵]
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɒ²⁴⁻⁴² ^(t-)lɒŋ²¹/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lô-tōng
  - Tâi-lô: lô-tōng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: loi'dong
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /lo¹³⁻²² tɔŋ²²/
  - IPA (Xiamen): /lo²⁴⁻²² tɔŋ²²/
  - IPA (Taipei): /lo²⁴⁻¹¹ tɔŋ³³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /lɤ²³⁻³³ tɔŋ³³/
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lô͘-tǒng
  - Tâi-lô: lôo-tǒng
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /lɔ²⁴⁻²² tɔŋ²²/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: lao⁵ dong⁶
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: lâu tŏng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lau⁵⁵⁻¹¹ toŋ³⁵/
Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ⁶lau-don₆
  - MiniDict: lau^去 don^去
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³lau-don₃
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /lɔ²² doŋ⁴⁴/

Middle Chinese: law duwngX

Rime
Character	勞	動
Reading #	1/2	1/1
Initial (聲)	來 (37)	定 (7)
Final (韻)	豪 (89)	東 (1)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I
Fanqie	魯刀切	徒揔切
Baxter	law	duwngX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/lɑu/	/duŋ^X/
Pan Wuyun	/lɑu/	/duŋ^X/
Shao Rongfen	/lɑu/	/duŋ^X/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/law/	/dəwŋ^X/
Li Rong	/lɑu/	/duŋ^X/
Wang Li	/lɑu/	/duŋ^X/
Bernhard Karlgren	/lɑu/	/dʱuŋ^X/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	láo	dòng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	lou⁴	dung⁶

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*[r]ˤaw [Cə-m-]tˤoŋʔ/

(Zhengzhang): /*raːw doːŋʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	勞	動
Reading #	1/2	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	láo	dòng
Middle Chinese	‹ law ›	‹ duwng^X ›
Old Chinese	/*[r]ˁaw/	/*[Cə-m-]tˁoŋʔ/
English	toil	move
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	勞	動
Reading #	1/2	1/1
No.	7647	17449
Phonetic component	勞	重
Rime group	宵	東
Rime subdivision	1	0
Corresponding MC rime	勞	動
Old Chinese	/*raːw/	/*doːŋʔ/

Noun

勞動

physical work; toil
熱愛勞動／热爱劳动 ― rè'ài láodòng ― to love physical work

勞動人民文化宮／劳动人民文化宫 ― Láodòng Rénmín Wénhuàgōng ― Working People's Cultural Palace
labor
勞動仲裁／劳动仲裁 ― láodòng zhòngcái ― labor arbitration

勞動關係／劳动关系 ― láodòng guānxì ― labor relations

Verb

勞動

to do physical work; to do manual labour; to toil
to perform labor
(archaic) to do physical exercise

Synonyms

(to do physical work): 操作 (cāozuò), 幹活／干活 (gànhuó)

Derived terms

具體勞動 / 具体劳动 (jùtǐ láodòng)
剩餘勞動 / 剩余劳动 (shèngyú láodòng)
勞動人民 / 劳动人民 (láodòng rénmín)
勞動保護 / 劳动保护
勞動保險 / 劳动保险
勞動力 / 劳动力 (láodònglì)
勞動合同 / 劳动合同 (láodòng hétóng)
勞動密集 / 劳动密集 (láodòng mìjí)
勞動密集型 / 劳动密集型 (láodòng mìjíxíng)
勞動專業化 / 劳动专业化
勞動對象 / 劳动对象 (láodòng duìxiàng)
勞動布 / 劳动布
勞動市場 / 劳动市场 (láodòng shìchǎng)
勞動強度 / 劳动强度
勞動改造 / 劳动改造 (láodòng gǎizào)
勞動教養 / 劳动教养 (láodòng jiàoyǎng)
勞動日 / 劳动日
勞動服 / 劳动服
勞動模範 / 劳动模范 (láodòng mófàn)
勞動權 / 劳动权
勞動法 / 劳动法 (láodòngfǎ)
勞動爭議 / 劳动争议
勞動生產率 / 劳动生产率 (láodòng shēngchǎnlǜ)
勞動節 / 劳动节 (láodòngjié)
勞動組合 / 劳动组合 (láodòng zǔhé)
勞動者 / 劳动者 (láodòngzhě)
勞動階級 / 劳动阶级 (láodòng jiējí)
勞模 / 劳模 (láomó)
家務勞動 / 家务劳动 (jiāwù láodòng)
強迫勞動 / 强迫劳动
必要勞動 / 必要劳动 (bìyào láodòng)
抽象勞動 / 抽象劳动 (chōuxiàng láodòng)
社會必要勞動時間 / 社会必要劳动时间 (shèhuì bìyāo láodòng shíjiān)
腦力勞動 / 脑力劳动 (nǎolì láodòng)
誠實勞動 / 诚实劳动 (chéngshí láodòng)
體力勞動 / 体力劳动 (tǐlì láodòng)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (勞動):

→ Japanese: 労働(ろうどう) (rōdō)
→ Korean: 로동/노동(勞動) (rodong/nodong)
→ Vietnamese: lao động (勞動)

Pronunciation 2

Mandarin
(Pinyin): láodong

(Zhuyin): ㄌㄠˊ ˙ㄉㄨㄥ
Cantonese (Jyutping): lou⁴ dung⁶
Southern Min (Hokkien, POJ): lô-tōng

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: láodong
  - Zhuyin: ㄌㄠˊ ˙ㄉㄨㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: láodo̊ng
  - Wade–Giles: lao²-tung⁵
  - Yale: láu-dung
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: lau.dong
  - Palladius: лаодун (laodun)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lɑʊ̯³⁵ d̥ʊŋ³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: lou⁴ dung⁶
  - Yale: lòuh duhng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: lou⁴ dung⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: lou⁴ dung⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /lou̯²¹ tʊŋ²²/
Southern Min
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: lô-tōng
  - Tâi-lô: lô-tōng
  - Phofsit Daibuun: loi'dong
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /lɤ²³⁻³³ tɔŋ³³/
  - IPA (Taipei): /lo²⁴⁻¹¹ tɔŋ³³/

Verb

勞動

(polite, colloquial, dated) to bother or trouble someone; to politely request someone to do something

Japanese

Kanji in this term
勞	動
ろう Hyōgai	どう Grade: 3
on'yomi

For pronunciation and definitions of 勞動 – see the following entry.

【労働ろうどう】

[noun] labor; labour

[verb] perform work, labor

Alternative spelling
労動

(This term, 勞動, is the kyūjitai of an alternative spelling (労動) of the above term.)

Korean

Hanja in this term
勞	動

Noun

勞動 • (rodong) (hangeul 로동)

hanja form^? of 로동 (“labour ("North Korea")”)

Noun

勞動 • (nodong) (hangeul 노동)

hanja form^? of 노동 (“labour ("South Korea")”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
勞	動

Noun

勞動

chữ Hán form of lao động (“labour”)