Taxonomy of meanings for 勞:　　

  • láo (OC: raaw MC: lɑu) 魯刀切 平 廣韻：【倦也勤也病也又姓後漢有琅邪勞丙魯刀切二十二 】
  • lào (OC: raaws MC: lɑu) 郎到切 去 廣韻：【勞慰又郎刀切 】
    • WORK
      • vtoNN=humanwork on behalf of, work for the benefit ofCH
      • intensitive>EFFORT
        • nabrequired or obligatory effortCH
        • vt+V[0]make an effort to VDS
        • resultative>MERIT
          • nabactdistinguished service; honest effort, meritorious toils, hard work; laborious achievement
          • nadN(in recompense) for meritorious effort
          • v[adN]men who have achievements to their credit
          • derivation by tone change, read lào: compensation for>REWARD
            • vadNby way of a reward, being a reward for service rendered, serving as a reward
            • vtoNfelicitate and reward; reward publicly
            • vtoNpassiveget publicly rewarded
            • vt(oN)felicitate and reward the contextually determinate recepients
      • hard>LABOUR
        • nabacthard work, tiresome effort; toil; meritorious hardship
        • nabactlabour in vain, wasted labour
        • v[adN]nonreferentialone who has put it an effort> a hard-working?? and therefore deserving person
        • vadNlabourous, strenuous
        • vigradedto work hard, toil; put in an honest effort; make a strenuous effort 甚勞
        • vt+prep+Nab{ACT}work hard at V-ing
        • vt+V[0]trouble oneself to V; go through the trouble to V
        • vtoNwork hard at; spend much effort on; work hard for
        • vtoNcausativecause to work hard; bother, inconvenience
        • vtoNcausativeexercise (one's body) in a positive, desirable way
        • vtoNcausativewith nonhuman object: exert one's N (勞力, 勞智)LZ
        • vtoN勞人"work for others": work hard forCH
        • vt(oV[0])work hard at doing the contextually determinate action VCH
        • compensation/sympathy for>CONSOLE
          • vtoNconsole and reward, recompense for toils(láo 勞)
          • vt(oN)make a polite visit to thank the contextually determinate N
          • vt+prep+Nmake a polite visit to N showing one's concernCH
          • vtoNoffer one's sympathies and best wishes to a sick person; go along and show one's concern and encouragement for an N who is in troubleCH
        • feature>DIFFICULT
          • vt+V[0]have a hard time doing something ??????????
        • result>TIRED
          • nabdispositiontiredness, exhaustion
          • v[adN]nonreferentialthose tired out and in distress
          • vibe distressed and quite exhausted; be completely worn out
          • viactwear oneself out (for no very good reason)
          • vicausative(of work or effort) be exhausting
          • vichange(of persons) get worn out;
          • vtoNcausativewear out, tire out
          • vtoNreflexive.其心tire oneself out
          • viactwear oneself out (for a good reason)LZ
          • causative>EXHAUST
            • vtoNexhaust; tire out; wear out 勞神 "tire out the spirit"
          • result, generalised>SAD
            • vi.redbe troubled in one's heart
            • causative>IRRITATE
              • vtoNirritate; cause worries to
          • medical> =癆？ILLNESS
            • nabfeature＝癆 illness

    Additional information about 勞

    說文解字: 【勞】，劇也。从力、熒省。熒火燒冂，用力者勞。 〔小徐本「冂」下有「也」。〕 【魯刀切】 【𢥒】，古文勞从悉。

      Criteria
    • STOP

      1. The standard current word for ceasing in an activity is zhǐ 止 (ant. xíng 行 "carry on with"), and this word can to any concrete or abstract activity; the ceasing may be final or temporary.

      2. Definitive discontinuation, often of inanimate processes, is yǐ 已 (ant. zuò 作 "break into action"). See FINISH.

      3. Bà 罷 is to deliberately discontinue a course of action one is embarked on, particularly a military action.

      4. Ceasing in a human activity, for a while, is xí 息 and the somewhat rarer xiū 休 (all ant. zuò 作 "break into action").

      5. Jué 絕 (ant. jì 繼 "continue") is to disrupt one's current (human) activity, and fèi 廢 (ant. qín 勤 "continue to make a serioues effort") is to discontinue such an acitivity permanently.

      6. Shě 舍 (often negated) is to relent in a certain activity.

      7. Chuò 輟 (ant.* láo 勞 "put in a continued honest effort") is temporary discontinuation of human action.

      8. Zhì 滯 can be used to refer to the involuntary discontinuation in an activity.

      9. Xiē1 歇 refers to the discontinuation of a process (like that of worrying).

    • EFFORT

      1. The most general word for physical (and sometimes also mental) effort is perhaps miǎn 勉.

      2. Láo 勞 (ant. yì 逸 "failure to put in an effort, relaxed attitude") emphasises the strenuousness and the tiresome nature of effort, and is the most widely used word.

      3. Lì 力 emphasises the strength needed to make a effort.

      4. Wù 務 emphasises the dutifulness of effort. NB: the meaning "strive to" is separate. See STRIVE FOR.

      5. Qín 勤 refers to an honest and strenuous effort.

      6. Yòng xīn 用心 focusses on concentration and the consciousness of an effort.

      7. The common word jìn 盡 is sometimes used to refer to an all-out effort to do something.

    • REST

      1. The current general word for resting is xí 息 (ant. zuò 作 "work").

      2. Xiū 休 (ant. láo 勞 "work hard") refers to brief break in a working process.

      3. Yàn 晏 (ant. qín 勤 "work assiduously") refers to relaxing at home.

      4. Qì 憩 (ant. xīn 辛 "work strenuously until exhaustion") is an elevated poetic word for resting.

      NB: Xiē 歇 is post-Han.

    • TIRED

      1. The general purpose word for communal exhaustion is pì 罷 (ant. zhuàng 壯 "in strong shape"); the general word for the state of exhaustion of an individual is juàn 倦. 不倦 refers to tireless activity, 不饜 refers to tireless receptivity. See DISSATISFIED.

      2. Pí 疲 and bèi 憊 typically refer to a relatively mild state of exhaustion.

      3. Bì 弊 refers to a desperate state of exhaustion.

      4. Láo 勞 refers to the state of exhaustion after extended lasting effort.

      5. Dān 殫 refers not so much to the subjective feeling of exhaustion as to the objective inability to continue an activity for lack of further energy.

      6. Qú 劬, a very poetic word, and the less poetic qín 勤, focus on the effort that brings about tiredness.

      7. Cuì 瘁 is a poetic word referring to weariness.

      8. Qiáo cuì 憔悴 refers to a weariness born of exhaustion.

      9. Láo 老 refers specifically to exhaustion of soldiers.

      10. Yàn 厭 refers specifically to being tired of, and thus fed up with something.

    • PEACEFUL

      1. The dominant general word for peacefulness is ān 安 (wēi 危 "in imminent danger"), but in addition the word also often has considerable philosophical depth and commonly refers to a deep state of unruffled inner serenity in harmony with the outer world.

      2. Píng 平 (ant. luàn 亂 "chaos") is prototypically an unruffled smooth surface, and the word refers to a state of harmonious tranquility, particularly in a community of people.

      3. Níng 寧 (ant. yáng 殃 "a totally disastrous state") refers to a state of affairs, primarily in a community of people, where disturbances have ceased.

      4. Yì 佚 / 逸 (ant. láo 勞 "engaged in exhausting effort") refers to restful peace of mind, typically after effort.

      5. Tián 恬 and dàn 淡 (all ant. dòng dàng 動蕩 "be all over the place) refer to serenity in an individual as cultivated, notoriously, by the Taoists.

      6. Jìng 靜 (ant. zào 躁 "flurried), is a state of mind in which one refuses to be rushed into any action and is fully at ease.

      7. Tài 泰 (all ant. jí 急 "be off balance or in urgent need of something, be in a critical state") and yí 夷 (ant. jīng 驚 "be upset") refers to relaxation, the state of being détendu.

    • LABOUR

      1. The standard current word for hard work, often commendable assiduous effort, is láo 勞.

      2. Kùn 困 refers to work which is so hard as to be a substantial threat to well-being.

      3. Jìng 競 can occasionally refer to exceedingly hard work, particularly in a competitive spirit.

    • CRIME

      1. The current general word for a serious legal transgression is zuì 罪 (ant. gōng 功 "merit"), and the current general word for a minor legal transgression is guò 過 (ant. xiào 效 "positive contribution").

      2. Yóu 尤 refers generally to morally disreputable behaviour.

      3. Jiù 咎 (ant. láo 勞 "obtain merits") refers to an action for which one deserves blame.

      4. Dào 盜 (ant.* dé 德 "virtue") refers to morally and legally outrageous behaviour.

      5. Yuè 越 can come to refer to a failure to keep within the boundaries set by one's social status or office.

      6. Gū 辜 (ant. xún 勛 "significant contribution") is an archaising word referring to serious crimes at an early stage, but later commonly used (mostly in negated form) to refer to any crime.

      7. Tè 忒, qiān 愆, and shěng 眚 refer to a minor but culpable error.

      8. Qiān 愆 refers to a minor mistake in procedure.

    • REWARD

      1. The current general word for rewarding is shǎng 賞 (ant. fá 罰 "punish" and zhū 誅 "punish").

      2. Láo 勞 (ant. chéng 懲 "punish") focusses on the contribution by those who are being rewarded.

      3. Kào 犒 focusses on the festive character of the ceremony accompanying or constituting the reward.

      4. Bào 報 construes the reward as being an interaction between equals.

      5. Cí 賜 refers to a present to an inferior in recognition of the latter's worth. For most examples see GIVE.

      NB: The meaning of shǎng 賞 "give as a present" is post-Buddhist.

    • CONSOLE

      1. The most general word for comforting someone is probably the rather rare wèi 慰.

      2. Diào 弔 / 吊 (ant. hè 賀 "congratulate on a felicitous occasion") refers to condolence in the presence of the body of the deceased, and the word has a special meaning "mourn the death of" where it takes the deceased as the grammatical object.

      3. Yàn 唁 refers to any condolence visit to the family of someone who has suffered a serious misfortune of any kind, including bereavement or loss of a state.

      4. Suī 綏 refers to offering comfort to an individual or a group that is in some form of trouble, and the subject is typically a person in authority.

      5. Fǔ 撫 focusses on soothing and caring action conducive to peace and security by a person in authority, and there is no implication of relief from intense suffering.

      6. Wèn 問 refers more generally to paying a visit to someone on the occasion of a case of illness etc..

      7. Lào 勞 refers to giving comfort to those who are exhausted after a worthy effort.

    • MERIT

      1. The current general word for achievements of any kind is gōng 功.

      2. Láo 勞 refers to meritorious effort as typically resulting in meritorious results.

      3. Xūn 勛／勳 refers to outstanding contributions to the state and this word cannot refer to personal achievements.

      4. Fá 伐 refers to a manifest achievement which is there for everyone to admire.

      5. Jī 績 refers to results obtained, which in principle can be both positive and negative (we have gōng jī 功績 "positive results" as well as bài jī 敗績 "negative results").

      Word relations
    • Ant: (TIRED)安/COMFORTABLE The standard word for material and psychological comfort is ān 安.
    • Ant: (LABOUR)佚 / 軼 / 逸/LEISURE
    • Ant: (TIRED)佚 / 軼 / 逸/LEISURE
    • Contrast: (TIRED)怵/FEAR
    • Contrast: (TIRED)苦/DISTRESS Kǔ 苦 and the much rarer xīn 辛 (ant. lè 樂 "be in a joyful state") refer to a lasting objective state of distress caused by identifiable external conditions.
    • Assoc: (MERIT)功/SUCCEED
    • Assoc: (TIRED)憂/WORRY The current general term for all sorts of troubled states of mind, as well as reasons for such states of mind, is yōu 憂 (ant. xǐ 喜 "be well pleased" and lè 樂 "feel deep joy"), and this word may freely refer to troublesome matters of the present or of the future, and the word typiccally refers to a termporary state of hightened awareness of what is troublesome and concern about what should be done about it.
    • Assoc: (TIRED)煩/CONFUSED
    • Synon: (EXHAUST)竭/EXHAUST Jié 竭 (ant. yíng 盈 "leave plenty of something") typically refers to the using up of what one has in one, or what one owns.
    • Oppos: (LABOUR)先 / 先/PRECEDE The current word for being first or coming first in time, or for being first in the order of importance, is xiān 先 (ant. hòu 後 "later").