gōngyǒu

工友

Word · Noun

janitor; maintenance worker; fellow worker

Tone colorsmāmámǎmàma

Meanings

2 senses · 4 examples
1.

noun

janitor; maintenance staff (in an office, school, etc.)

Refers to support staff responsible for cleaning, maintenance, and miscellaneous tasks in public institutions.

Tā他
shì是
zhè这
suǒ所
dà大
xué学
de的
gōng工
yǒu友
 ,
fù负
zé责
dǎ打
sǎo扫
jiào教
xué学
lóu楼
 。

He is a janitor at this university, responsible for cleaning the teaching buildings.

Xué学
xiào校
de的
gōng工
yǒu友
měi每
tiān天
zǎo早
shàng上
liù六
diǎn点
jiù就
kāi开
shǐ始
gōng工
zuò作
le了
 。

The school's maintenance staff starts work at six o'clock every morning.

2.

noun

worker; fellow worker (old term used among laborers)

archaic

Originally used in the early 20th century and in industrial settings; still occasionally used among workers as a term of solidarity or friendly address.

Jiù旧
Shàng上
hǎi海
de的
gōng工
chǎng厂
lǐ里
 ,
gōng工
yǒu友
men们
cháng常
cháng常
hù互
xiāng相
bāng帮
zhù助
 。

In old Shanghai's factories, fellow workers often helped each other.

Nà那
wèi位
lǎo老
gōng工
rén人
duì对
nián年
qīng轻
de的
gōng工
yǒu友
shuō说
 :
 "
Zán咱
men们
gōng工
rén人
yǒu有
lì力
liang量
 。
 "

That old worker said to the young fellow worker, "We workers have strength."