打工仔

Chinese

		to work on a part-time, casual or temporary basis	minutely; young; duty minutely; young; duty; responsibility
simp. and trad. (打工仔)		打工	仔

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): dǎgōngzǎi

  (Zhuyin): ㄉㄚˇ ㄍㄨㄥ ㄗㄞˇ

• Cantonese

  (Guangzhou–Hong Kong, Jyutping): daa² gung¹ zai²

  (Taishan, Wiktionary): a² guung¹ doi²

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: dǎgōngzǎi
    • Zhuyin: ㄉㄚˇ ㄍㄨㄥ ㄗㄞˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: dǎgongzǎi
    • Wade–Giles: ta³-kung¹-tsai³
    • Yale: dǎ-gūng-dzǎi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: daagongtzae
    • Palladius: дагунцзай (dagunczaj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /tä²¹⁴⁻²¹ kʊŋ⁵⁵ t͡saɪ̯²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: daa² gung¹ zai²
    • Yale: dá gūng jái
    • Cantonese Pinyin: daa² gung¹ dzai²
    • Guangdong Romanization: da² gung¹ zei²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /taː³⁵ kʊŋ⁵⁵ t͡sɐi̯³⁵/
  • (Taishanese, Taicheng)
    • Wiktionary: a² guung¹ doi²
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /a⁵⁵ kɵŋ³³ tᵘɔi⁵⁵/

Noun

打工仔

1. (colloquial) young worker; employee

   • 我哋呢班打工仔通街走糴直頭係壞腸胃 [Cantonese, trad.]
     我哋呢班打工仔通街走籴直头系坏肠胃 [Cantonese, simp.]

     From: 1977 March 26, Theme Song, The Private Eyes (半斤八兩), sung by Sam Hui (許冠傑) at the 1st Hong Kong Gold Disc Award Presentation (第一屆香港金唱片頒獎典禮)

     ngo⁵ dei⁶ ne¹ baan¹ daa² gung¹ zai² tung¹ gaai¹ zau² dek⁶ zik⁶ tau⁴ hai⁶ waai⁶ coeng⁴ wai⁶ [Jyutping]

     Working folks like us getting sick, running ourselves ragged

2. (colloquial, chiefly Mainland China) young man who leaves his hometown in the countryside to work in menial jobs in the city