Click the character to replay. Press Try drawing to write it yourself.
字源zìyuánEtymology & Structure
字源洞见 zìyuán dòngjiàn · Etymological Insight
工 gōng is a three-stroke character whose interpretation has generated genuine scholarly debate. The most compelling reading: the top horizontal stroke is Heaven (天), the bottom is Earth (地), and the vertical stroke connecting them is the human craft that mediates between the two realms. This is not just poetic — it encodes the ancient Chinese understanding of skilled work as cosmologically significant, the activity that allows humans to transform raw nature into civilization.
A second interpretation sees 工 as a pictograph of a carpenter's square (矩 jǔ) or a mason's level — the fundamental tools of craft that allow humans to impose order and right-angle precision on the world. Either reading arrives at the same semantic core: skilled making, the transformation of materials through human intelligence and effort.
工 is one of the most common characters in modern Chinese, appearing in hundreds of compound words. It combines with virtually every domain: 工作 (work), 工人 (worker), 工厂 (factory), 工程 (engineering), 工具 (tools), 工艺 (craft/technique). The character also carries a musical meaning: 工 is the second note of the traditional Chinese pentatonic scale (工尺谱 gōngchěpǔ — the classical notation system). In the 工尺谱, 工 corresponds roughly to the second degree of the scale.
工 gōng (work) + 作 zuò (to do; to make). Both noun (a job, a piece of work) and verb (to work, to be employed). 你做什么工作？= What do you do for work? 工作经验 = work experience. 工作量 = workload. 找工作 = to look for a job. 失业 shīyè = unemployment (lit. "lose industry"). 工作狂 = workaholic (lit. "work madman") — the Chinese concept of 内卷 nèijuǎn (involution, competitive overwork) has made this a culturally charged term.
他在一家科技公司工作，负责软件开发。
Tā zài yī jiā kējì gōngsī gōngzuò, fùzé ruǎnjiàn kāifā.
He works at a tech company and is responsible for software development.
工程师gōngchéngshīengineer
N 名词 míngcí
工程 gōngchéng (engineering; project — lit. "work + process") + 师 shī (master; teacher; professional). Engineer — one of the most respected professional titles in China, associated with the nation's modernization drive. 工程 alone means a large project or undertaking: 三峡工程 = Three Gorges Project. Types: 软件工程师 (software engineer), 机械工程师 (mechanical engineer), 建筑工程师 (civil/structural engineer). 工程师 has a slightly more elevated connotation than simply 工人 (worker).
This bridge was built by more than five hundred engineers over three years.
工艺gōngyìcraft; technique; craftsmanship
N 名词 míngcí
工 gōng (work; skill) + 艺 yì (art; skill; technique). Craft as the intersection of technical skill and artistry. 工艺品 gōngyìpǐn = handicraft item; artisan product. 传统工艺 = traditional crafts. 工艺美术 = arts and crafts (as a discipline). In Chinese cultural policy, 非物质文化遗产 (intangible cultural heritage) often centers on traditional 工艺 — lacquerwork, porcelain, silk weaving, bronze casting, papermaking, woodblock printing. These crafts are sites of national identity and UNESCO recognition.
景德镇的瓷器工艺已有一千多年的历史。
Jǐngdézhèn de cíqì gōngyì yǐ yǒu yīqiān duō nián de lìshǐ.
The porcelain craftsmanship of Jingdezhen has a history of over a thousand years.
成语chéngyǔIdioms & Set Phrases
事半功倍shì bàn gōng bèihalf the work, double the results — to achieve maximum output with minimum effortLit: work-half-achievement-double. The ideal of efficiency in Chinese thought — doing less to accomplish more through intelligence, timing, and method. From Mencius (孟子): "If the king governs now, the people will be pleased as if rescued from fire and water — half the work of the ancients, double the results." The counterpart is 事倍功半 shì bèi gōng bàn (double the work, half the results — wasted effort).
大功告成dà gōng gào chéngthe great work is accomplished — mission completeLit: great-achievement-announce-accomplished. A formal declaration that a major undertaking — a construction project, a campaign, a long creative work — has been completed. Often used with a tone of proud announcement: 大功告成！(We did it!). 功 gōng here means merit/achievement, derived from 工 work — the result of sustained skilled effort.
相邻词汇xiānglín cíhuìAdjacent Vocabulary
工人gōngrénworker; laborer工厂gōngchǎngfactory工具gōngjùtool; instrument手工shǒugōnghandmade; handicraft加工jiāgōngto process; to manufacture功夫gōngfuskill; effort; kung fu成功chénggōngsuccess; to succeed人工réngōngartificial; manual labor