nai4 gung1泥工
Jyutpingnai4 gung1
Yalenàih gūng
Definition
Shoveling mud; by extension, strenuous or heavy manual labor.
colloquialworkdaily actions
How it's used
Originally referring specifically to the act of shoveling mud or earth, this term has evolved to describe any form of physically demanding, manual labor. It carries a connotation of being dirty or exhausting work that requires significant physical effort. It is often used to contrast white-collar office jobs with blue-collar, labor-intensive tasks.
Measure word
fan2份fánExamples
He is used to doing manual labor, so he is quite rough.
Do you need to find someone to help with the heavy lifting?
Related words
Common phrases
to do manual labor
Common mistake
Do not confuse this with the term for a construction worker or mason, which is 泥水佬. While 泥工 describes the nature of the work, 泥水佬 specifically identifies the person performing the trade.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- In 30 secondsThe whole language at a glance. No tenses, no plurals, six tones, sentence particles. Read this before you dive into any specific topic.
- ParticlesSentence particles add tone, emotion, and nuance. Learn the most common particles in Cantonese and how to use them.
- Possession (嘅)How to say my, your, and his, and how to link a describing word to a noun, all with the little word 嘅 (ge3).
