The character 工 — “work”: how to write it and what it means
work, labor
The Chinese character 工 is read gōng and means “work, labor”. Below: the stroke order step by step, what the character is made of and the words it appears in.
Stroke order: how to write 工
工 has 3 strokes. At each step the new stroke is highlighted — write them in the same order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical, a frame before what is inside it, and the bottom stroke of the frame last.
To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for 工, with strokes to trace and empty squares.
What 工 is made of
A picture of a carpenter's square.
The parts of a character hint at its meaning or its reading — more in the article “Chinese character radicals”.
Words with 工
- 工作work; to workHSK 1
- 工作日workday, weekdayHSK 3
- 工资salaryHSK 4
- 工厂factory, plantHSK 4
- 工人workerHSK 4
- 打工work part-timeHSK 4
- 员工employees, staffHSK 5
- 职工workers and staffHSK 5
- 加工processHSK 5
- 工程construction, engineering projectHSK 5
- 工业industryHSK 5
- 工具toolHSK 5
- 人工artificial; manual laborHSK 5
- 手工handworkHSK 5
- 工艺craft, technologyHSK 5
- 工程师engineerHSK 5
Frequently asked questions
How do you write the character 工?
工 has 3 strokes. They follow the usual rules: top to bottom, left to right, horizontal before vertical, outside before inside. The order of each stroke is shown on this page.
What does 工 mean?
工 means “work, labor”. It appears in 工作 (“work”), 工作日 (“workday”), 工资 (“salary”), 工厂 (“factory”).
How do you pronounce 工?
工 is read gōng. The tone is part of the reading: with another melody it becomes another syllable.
How many strokes does 工 have?
3 strokes.
More characters on the page “Chinese characters with meanings” and in the list of HSK characters by level; whole words are in the dictionary.
Write 工 yourself
In the lessons you write characters stroke by stroke with a finger or a mouse, and the course checks the order. You can start for free, no sign-up needed.
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