劳 (láo): (bound form) to toil, labor, (bound form) laborer, (bound form) meritorious deed
劳 (láo) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) to toil.” Classified as HSK Level 5 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 艹 (structural). It ranks #679 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 劳 a man lifting 力 a load 冖 of grass 艹. Its radical form 力 (power) appears in many related characters such as 动 (dòng, (of sth) to move), 力 (lì, power), 办 (bàn, to take care of (a matter)).
Definitions
- (bound form) to toil
- labor
- (bound form) laborer
- (bound form) meritorious deed
Etymology & Origin
ideographicA man lifting 力 a load 冖 of grass 艹
Decomposition: ⿱艹⿱冖力 (layout: top-bottom)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 劳 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 劳
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | HSK |
|---|---|---|---|
| 劳动noun/verb | láo dòng | work | 5 |
| 疲劳adjective | pí láo | fatigue | 6 |
| 勤劳adjective | qín láo | hardworking | 6 |
| 劳动力noun | láo dòng lì | labor force | 6 |
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 效劳 | xiào láo | to serve (in some capacity) |
| 劳驾 | láo jià | excuse me |
| 功劳 | gōng láo | contribution |
| 劳伦斯 | láo lún sī | Lawrence (person name) |
| 克劳斯 | kè láo sī | Claus or Klaus (name) |
| 麦当劳 | mài dāng láo | McDonald's (fast food company) |
| 酬劳 | chóu láo | reward |
| 徒劳 | tú láo | futile |
| 劳工 | láo gōng | labor |
| 劳埃德 | láo āi dé | Lloyd (name) |
| 劳力 | láo lì | labor |
| 克劳德 | kè láo dé | Claude (name) |
| 劳累 | láo lèi | tired |
| 劳作 | láo zuò | work |
| 劳动节 | láo dòng jié | International Labor Day (May Day) |
劳 appears in 100 compound words: 40 as the first character, 44 as the last, and 16 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Strongest Collocations
Characters that most frequently co-occur with 劳 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (28)
to spare no effort; to take pains; to take the trouble to; to go to the trouble of doing something
merit of war; battle achievements; achievement or contribution as a result of hard work
to fall ill because one is overworked and exhausted for a long period of time; to fall ill from prolonged overwork
to spare no effort; to take pains; to take the trouble to; to go to the trouble of doing something
merit of war; battle achievements; achievement or contribution as a result of hard work
to fall ill because one is overworked and exhausted for a long period of time; to fall ill from prolonged overwork
Showing 12 of 28 idioms containing 劳.
Example Sentences
老师教我们劳字的发音和笔顺。
lǎo shī jiào wǒ men láo zì de fā yīn hé bǐ shùn .
The teacher taught us the pronunciation and stroke order of the character "劳."
年后跳槽快看!劳动部祭“课程奖励金”条件曝 最高领100...
nián hòu tiào cáo kuài kàn ! láo dòng bù jì kè chéng jiǎng lì jīn tiáo jiàn pù zuì gāo lǐng 1 0 0 . . .
Jump to work after the year! The Ministry of Labor sacrifices "course incentives" conditions are exposed to receive up to 100...
...须备足师资教室 叶祥均:避免政策“U转”劳民伤财
. . . xū bèi zú shī zī jiào shì xié xiáng jūn : bì miǎn zhèng cè U zhuǎn láo mín shāng cái
... Teacher classrooms must be prepared Ye Xiangjun: Avoid the policy "U transfer" to labor and waste money
麦当劳2.23起推全新人气着数套餐 脆辣鸡腿饱...
mài dāng láo 2 . 2 3 qǐ tuī quán xīn rén qì zhe shǔ tào cān cuì là jī tuǐ bǎo . . .
McDonald's launches a new popular set meal from 2.23 Crispy and spicy chicken legs are full...
麦当劳全新人气着数套餐优惠!脆辣鸡腿饱餐减$1...
mài dāng láo quán xīn rén qì zhe shǔ tào cān yōu huì ! cuì là jī tuǐ bǎo cān jiǎn 1 . . .
McDonald's new popular set meal discount! Crispy and spicy chicken thighs are $1 off...
...家门口”到“厂门口”,首批数百名来沪务工劳动者“..
. . . jiā mén kǒu dào hǎn mén kǒu , shǒu pī shǔ bǎi míng lái hù wù gōng láo dòng zhě . .
... "At the doorstep" to the "factory gate", the first batch of hundreds of migrant workers came to Shanghai:
克劳迪欧似乎有点担心。
Kè láo dí ōu sìhū yǒudiǎn dānxīn.
Claudio seemed a little concerned.
克劳迪奥留着长发，而且抽大麻。
Kè láo Dí'ào liú zhe chángfà, érqiě chōu dàmá.
Claudio had long hair and smoked pot.
在麦当劳吃早饭怎么样？
Zài Màidāngláo chī zǎofàn zěnmeyàng?
How's the breakfast at McDonald's?
你觉得在麦当劳吃早餐如何？
Nǐ juéde zài Màidāngláo chī zǎocān rúhé?
What do you think about having breakfast at McDonald's?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 劳 (láo) mean in Chinese?
How many strokes does 劳 have?
What is the radical of 劳?
What are the components of 劳?
What are common words containing 劳?
What characters sound the same as 劳 (láo)?
Is 劳 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 劳 with real-time feedback
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