劳

勞
láo
#678 most
frequent character
to toil, labor, laborer

Character breakdown

Source: Make Me a Hanzi.

劳 is a short form of 勞. The old shape had two fires and 衣 clothes, showing the toil of sewing by firelight. Later 衣 changed into 冖, and 力 effort was added to stress the meaning. In the simplified shape, the two fires became 艹.

劳 as a component in other characters

sound7 characters
捞唠涝崂痨耢铹

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Homophones

牢láo
fold, pen, prison, jail, durable

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