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工作

Mandarin · pinyin gōng zuò

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Characters in this entry

工: gōng · labor, work; worker, laborer
作: zuò · make; work; compose, write; act, perform

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

1–4 · gong1 zuo4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

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Rime Cantonese 粵拼

gung1 zok3

Cantonese word readings for 工作. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

verb

to work (to be engaged in a mental or physical activity)
to work (to be employed)
to work (to function properly)

noun

(uncountable) work (employment)
(countable) job (position) (Classifier: 份; 個／个)
(countable, uncountable) task; job; work (something to do) (Classifier: 份 m; 項／项 m; 個／个)
(archaic, countable) ingenious accomplishment (Classifier: 個／个)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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