工作
HSK 1 (exam 2025)HSK 1 (2021)Old HSK 1
工作 (gōngzuò) · work
工作 (gōngzuò) means “work; to work”. It is written with 2 characters: 工 (labor) + 作 (to make). It is an HSK 1 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).
How 工作 is built
The characters
工 gōng · labor
What 工 is made of
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 丄shàng — above
- 丨 — vertical stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
Origin hint: A spade or other workman's tool (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
作 zuò · to make
What 作 is made of
- 亻rén — person
- 乍zhà — first time
- 丿 — falling stroke
- 下xià — down
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 卜bo — divination
- 一 — horizontal stroke
Origin hint: A person 亻 making something for the first time 乍; 乍 also provides the pronunciation (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)
Example sentences
你在哪儿工作？Nǐ zài nǎr gōngzuò?Where do you work?
我的工作很忙。Wǒ de gōngzuò hěn máng.My job keeps me very busy.
Questions about 工作
What does 工作 mean?
工作 (gōngzuò) means “work; to work”.
How do you pronounce 工作?
工作 is pronounced gōngzuò.
Which HSK level is 工作?
工作 is in HSK 1 (exam 2025) and HSK 1 (2021) and Old HSK 1.
Related words
- 工人gōngrénworker
- 打工dǎgōngto work part-time
- 工厂gōngchǎngfactory
- 工程师gōngchéngshīengineer
- 工夫gōngfutime
- 工具gōngjùtool
- 工业gōngyèindustry
- 工资gōngzīpay
- 加工jiāgōngto process
- 人工réngōngartificial
Learn 工作 with its group
It is part of HSK 1 (2021) · Group 10: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.