工

See also: エ [U+30A8 KATAKANA LETTER E], ㆲ [U+31B2 BOPOMOFO LETTER ONG], and Appendix:Variations of "i"

工	U+5DE5, 工 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-5DE5

← 巤
[U+5DE4]

CJK Unified Ideographs

左 →
[U+5DE6]

⼯	U+2F2F, ⼯ KANGXI RADICAL WORK

← ⼮
[U+2F2E]

Kangxi Radicals

⼰ →
[U+2F30]

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

See images of
Radical 48 工

工 (Kangxi radical 48, 工+0, 3 strokes, cangjie input 一中一 (MLM), four-corner 1010₀, composition ⿱一丄 or ⿱丅一)

Kangxi radical #48, ⼯.

Derived characters

References

Kangxi Dictionary: page 325, character 1
Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 8714
Dae Jaweon: page 626, character 2
Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 410, character 6
Unihan data for U+5DE5

Chinese

simp. and trad.		工
alternative forms		𠜝㠪𢀚𢒅㣉𠜝㠪𢀚𢒅㣉𢒄

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 工
Shang	Western Zhou	Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)		Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Ancient script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (工) (Zhengzhang, 2003)

	Old Chinese
缸	kroːŋ, ɡroːŋ
篢	kluːmʔ, koːŋ
贑	*kluːmʔ
涳	ŋr'oːŋ, kʰroːŋ, *kʰoːŋ
江	*kroːŋ
肛	kroːŋ, qʰroːŋ
扛	*kroːŋ
杠	*kroːŋ
豇	*kroːŋ
茳	*kroːŋ
釭	kroːŋ, koːŋ, *kuːŋ
矼	*kroːŋ
玒	kroːŋ, koːŋ
虹	kroːŋs, koːŋs, *ɡoːŋ
腔	*kʰroːŋ
崆	kʰroːŋ, kʰoːŋ
羫	*kʰroːŋ
控	kʰroːŋ, kʰoːŋs
椌	kʰroːŋ, kʰoːŋ
悾	kʰroːŋ, kʰoːŋ, *kʰoːŋs
跫	kʰroːŋ, kʰoŋ, *ɡoŋ
啌	*qʰroːŋ
谾	qʰroːŋ, qʰoːŋ
舡	*qʰroːŋ
缻	*ɡroːŋ
項	*ɡroːŋʔ
屸	*ɡ·roːŋ
功	*koːŋ
工	*koːŋ
疘	*koːŋ
魟	koːŋ, qʰoːŋ, *ɡoːŋ
攻	koːŋ, kuːŋ
愩	*koːŋ
碽	*koːŋ
貢	*koːŋs
羾	*koːŋs
空	kʰoːŋ, kʰoːŋs
箜	*kʰoːŋ
硿	*kʰoːŋ
埪	*kʰoːŋ
鵼	*kʰoːŋ
倥	kʰoːŋ, kʰoːŋʔ, *kʰoːŋs
鞚	*kʰoːŋs
叿	*qʰoːŋ
嗊	*qʰoːŋʔ
訌	*ɡoːŋ
紅	*ɡoːŋ
仜	*ɡoːŋ
葒	*ɡoːŋ
渱	*ɡoːŋ
鴻	ɡoːŋ, ɡoːŋʔ
汞	*ɡoːŋʔ
澒	*ɡoːŋʔ
鞏	*koŋʔ
巩	*koŋʔ
銎	kʰoŋ, qʰoŋ
恐	kʰoŋʔ, kʰoŋs
蛩	*ɡoŋ
筇	*ɡoŋ
桏	*ɡoŋ
邛	*ɡoŋ

Pictogram (象形) – a bladed tool.

Etymology

An area word; compare Burmese ခိုင်း (hkuing:, “to order or ask someone to do something”), Old Mon kloñ (kloɲ, “to work”), Old Mon klon (klon, “to have charge of cultivation”) (Schuessler, 2007).

Cognate with 功 (OC *koːŋ, “merit; achievement”), 攻 (OC *koːŋ, *kuːŋ, “to attack”). The senses evolved in the following manner: 工 (“work artisan”) > 功 (“merit; achievement”) > 攻 (“to attack”) (ibid.).

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): gōng (gong¹)

(Zhuyin): ㄍㄨㄥ

(Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): gong¹

(Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): гун (gun, I)
Cantonese
(Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): gung¹

(Taishan, Wiktionary): guung¹
Gan (Wiktionary): gung¹
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): kûng

(Meixian, Guangdong): gung¹
Jin (Wiktionary): gung¹
Northern Min (KCR): gó̤ng
Eastern Min (BUC): gĕ̤ng / gŭng
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): kong / kang / khang

(Teochew, Peng'im): gang¹ / gong¹
Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ¹kon
Xiang (Changsha, Wiktionary): gong¹

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: gōng
  - Zhuyin: ㄍㄨㄥ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: gong
  - Wade–Giles: kung¹
  - Yale: gūng
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: gong
  - Palladius: гун (gun)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʊŋ⁵⁵/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: gong¹
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: gung
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /koŋ⁵⁵/
- (Dungan)
  - Cyrillic and Wiktionary: гун (gun, I)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuŋ²⁴/
  (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
  - Jyutping: gung¹
  - Yale: gūng
  - Cantonese Pinyin: gung¹
  - Guangdong Romanization: gung¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kʊŋ⁵⁵/
- (Taishanese, Taicheng)
  - Wiktionary: guung¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɵŋ³³/
Gan
- (Nanchang)
  - Wiktionary: gung¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kuŋ⁴²/
Hakka
- (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: kûng
  - Hakka Romanization System: gung^ˊ
  - Hagfa Pinyim: gung¹
  - Sinological IPA: /kuŋ²⁴/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: gung¹
  - Sinological IPA: /kʊŋ⁴⁴/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: gung¹
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /kũŋ¹¹/
Northern Min
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: gó̤ng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /kɔŋ⁵⁴/
Eastern Min
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: gĕ̤ng / gŭng
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /køyŋ⁵⁵/, /kuŋ⁵⁵/

Note:

gĕ̤ng - vernacular;
gŭng - literary.

Southern Min
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kong
  - Tâi-lô: kong
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kofng
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kɔŋ³³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /kɔŋ⁴⁴/
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: kang
  - Tâi-lô: kang
  - Phofsit Daibuun: kafng
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /kaŋ⁴⁴/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /kaŋ³³/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: khang
  - Tâi-lô: khang
  - Phofsit Daibuun: qafng
  - IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung, Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /kʰaŋ⁴⁴/

Note:

kong - literary;
kang - vernacular;
khang - vernacular (in 工課).

(Teochew)
- Peng'im: gang¹ / gong¹
- Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: kang / kong
- Sinological IPA ^(key): /kaŋ³³/, /koŋ³³/

Note: gong1 - one of the symbols in Gongchepu.

Wu
- (Northern: Shanghai)
  - Wugniu: ¹kon
  - MiniDict: kon^平
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ¹kon
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /koŋ⁵³/
Xiang
- (Changsha)
  - Wiktionary: gong¹
  - Sinological IPA ^(key) (old-style): /kʊŋ³³/
  - Sinological IPA ^(key) (new-style): /kən³³/

Middle Chinese: kuwng

Rime
Character	工
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	見 (28)
Final (韻)	東 (1)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	I
Fanqie	古紅切
Baxter	kuwng
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/kuŋ/
Pan Wuyun	/kuŋ/
Shao Rongfen	/kuŋ/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/kəwŋ/
Li Rong	/kuŋ/
Wang Li	/kuŋ/
Bernard Karlgren	/kuŋ/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	gōng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	gung¹

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*kˤoŋ/

(Zhengzhang): /*koːŋ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	工	工
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	gōng	gōng
Middle Chinese	‹ kuwng ›	‹ kuwng ›
Old Chinese	/*kˁoŋ/	/*kˁoŋ/
English	officer	work
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	工
Reading #	1/1
No.	4022
Phonetic component	工
Rime group	東
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	公
Old Chinese	/*koːŋ/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 工

labour; work (Classifier: 份 c)
工作 ― gōngzuò ― work

你失咗業咁耐，仲唔快啲搵返份工！ [Cantonese, trad.]
你失咗业咁耐，仲唔快啲揾返份工！ [Cantonese, simp.]
From: 開放詞典／开放词典 [Kaifang Cidian]
nei⁵ sat¹ zo² jip⁶ gam³ noi⁶, zung⁶ m⁴ faai³ di¹ wan² faan¹ fan⁶ gung¹! [Jyutping]
It's been one month since you lost your job; you need to find a new job soon!
(Northern Min, Eastern Min, Southern Min) working day; daytime; a day (24 hours)
worker; laborer
工人 ― gōngrén ― worker, laborer

陶瓷工 ― táocígōng ― potter
industry; profession; trade
to be good at; to be skilled in
- 昔者舜工於使人，造父工於使馬。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]
  昔者舜工于使人，造父工于使马。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: Han shi waizhuan, 1^nd century BCE
  Xīzhě Shùn gōng yú shǐ rén, Zàofù gōng yú shǐ mǎ. [Pinyin]
  (please add an English translation of this usage example)
delicate; exquisite
one of the symbols in Gongchepu (工尺譜).

Synonyms

(time period):

Dialectal synonyms of 天 (“day (24 hours)”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		日
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		日, 天
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	天
	Taiwan	天
	Malaysia	天
	Singapore	天
	Olginsky (Mikhaylovka)	天
Central Plains Mandarin	Wanrong	天
Lanyin Mandarin	Ürümqi	天
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	天
	Guiyang	天
	Guilin	天
	Liuzhou	天
Cantonese	Guangzhou	日
	Hong Kong	日
	Taishan	日
	Taishan (Guanghai)	日
	Guiping (Jintian)	日
	Chongzuo (Laituan)	天
	Fusui (Qujiu)	日
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	日
	Singapore (Guangfu)	日
	Mandalay (Taishan)	日, 天
Gan	Nanchang	日
	Lichuan	日
	Pingxiang	工, 日
Hakka	Meixian	日
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	日
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	日
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	日
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	日
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	日
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	日
Huizhou	Jixi	日
Jin	Taiyuan	天
Northern Min	Jian'ou	工
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	日, 工
	Gutian	工
	Pingnan	工
	Fu'an	工
	Ningde	工
	Xiapu	工
	Zherong	工
	Shouning	工
	Zhouning	工
	Fuding	工
Southern Min	Xiamen	日
	Quanzhou	日, 工
	Anxi	工
	Yongchun	日, 工
	Zhangzhou	日
	Zhangzhou (Changtai)	日
	Zhao'an	日
	Dongshan	日
	Taipei	工, 日
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	工, 日
	Kaohsiung	工, 日
	Yilan	工, 日
	Changhua (Lukang)	工, 日
	Taichung	日, 工
	Taichung (Wuqi)	工
	Tainan	工, 日
	Taitung	日
	Hsinchu	日, 工
	Kinmen	工
	Penghu (Magong)	工
	Penang (Hokkien)	日
	Singapore (Hokkien)	工, 日
	Manila (Hokkien)	日
	Datian	工
	Pingnan (Pingtian)	日
	Guilin (Biyange)	日
	Chaozhou	日
	Shantou	日
	Singapore (Teochew)	日
	Haikou	日
	Singapore (Hainanese)	日
Puxian Min	Putian	工, 日
	Putian (Donghai, Chengxiang)	工
	Putian (Jiangkou, Hanjiang)	日
	Putian (Nanri, Xiuyu)	工
	Xianyou	工
	Xianyou (Fengting)	工
	Xianyou (Youyang)	工
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dabu)	日
	Guilin (Wutong, Lingui)	日
	Guilin (Liangjiang, Lingui)	日
	Lingchuan (Sanjie)	日
Wu	Shanghai	天, 日, 日天
	Suzhou	日
	Hangzhou	日
	Ningbo	日
	Wenzhou	日
	Jinhua	日
Xiang	Changsha	天

(work): 活 (huó), 事 (shì), 工作 (gōngzuò)