工作量
gōng zuò liàng · HSK 7
workload
📊 工作量 = work + work + amount (gōng zuò = work, liàng = quantity)
工 (work/labor) + 作 (do/make) combine into 工作 meaning job or work. 量 (liàng) means quantity or amount. Together: the amount of work, i.e. workload.
作 — person radical 亻 + 乍
作 combines the person radical 亻 with 乍, which originally depicted a sudden action or making something. The character means 'to do, make, or create,' with 亻 indicating human activity and 乍 supplying the sound. Over time it broadened to cover works, deeds, and acting as something.
量 — top 旦 (sunrise) + bottom 里 (village/measure)
Originally a pictograph of a funnel or measuring vessel used to gauge grain. The form evolved to suggest weighing at sunrise (旦) over a measured area (里). It split into two readings: liáng 'to measure' (the action) and liàng 'quantity' (the result).