劳 (láo) is a Chinese character meaning “labor”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 冖 (cover) and 力 (strength; power), and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “labor; to work hard”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 冖 + 力
Top–middle–bottom structure
Structure from: modern-glyph decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke groups (艹 3 + 冖 2 + 力 2 = 7)
Memory aid
Grass (艹) piled on a flat cover (冖), and strength (力) holding it all up from below. Carrying that load is labor.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 劳动láo dònglabor; physical work; to work劳 = láo
- 疲劳pí láotired; fatigued; fatigue劳 = láo
- 劳累láo lèitired; worn out; to overwork劳 = láo
- 劳驾láo jiàexcuse me; may I trouble you劳 = láo
Go deeper
All readings
labor; toil
labor; work; to toil; fatigue; to trouble (someone)
劳动；出力做事；因用力过多而疲乏。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 劳动láo dònglabor; physical work; to work劳 = láo
- 疲劳pí láotired; fatigued; fatigue劳 = láo
- 劳累láo lèitired; worn out; to overwork劳 = láo
- 劳驾láo jiàexcuse me; may I trouble you劳 = láo
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 劳 mean?
劳 (láo) means labor; work; to toil; fatigue; to trouble (someone).
How do you pronounce 劳?
It is pronounced láo.
What parts is 劳 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 冖 (cover) and 力 (strength; power). The recorded source is: modern-glyph decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data stroke groups (艹 3 + 冖 2 + 力 2 = 7). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 劳 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 劳?
力. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 劳?
Common ones are 劳动 and 疲劳. The reading of 劳 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.