労 Meaning, Reading, and Vocabulary｜Onyomi ロウ・Kunyomi いたわ.る
労 is an essential N3 kanji meaning 'to work' or 'to labor'.
Its onyomi is 'ロウ', used in words like 労働 (labor) and 苦労 (hardship).
Its kunyomi readings are 'いたわる' (to care for) and 'ねぎらう' (to appreciate someone's efforts).
Kanji at a glance
Core meaning / core image
労 is a kanji that carries the meaning of working hard physically or mentally, or appreciating such efforts. It is often used in words related to sweating through hard work, fatigue, and hardship.
Kanji structure breakdown
Mnemonic story
This character depicts someone moving their body with all their power (力) late into the night under the light of a torch (⺍). The image of sweating and working hard under the light gave it the meaning of 'to work'.
On'yomi and kun'yomi
On reading
Kun reading
Commonly used words
Example sentences
Mini quiz
What is the correct reading for the word '苦労', meaning 'hardship' or 'trouble'?
One-line summary
労 is a warm yet intense kanji that captures the image of sweating through labor (労働), enduring hardships (苦労), and the heart that appreciates such efforts (労る).
FAQ
What is the difference between 労る (いたわる) and 労う (ねぎらう)?
Both words mean to appreciate someone's efforts, but the target and nuance differ. '労る (いたわる)' is mainly used when showing compassion and care to the elderly or vulnerable, while '労う (ねぎらう)' is generally used by a superior to praise and appreciate the hard work or contributions of a subordinate.
What does the old character form (kyujitai) of 労 look like?
The old character form is written as '勞'. It has two fire (火) radicals at the top, making the image of lit torches much clearer. However, in modern Japanese, the simplified new character form '労' is used as the standard for convenience.
