打工人
dǎ gōng rén · HSK 5
wage earner
💼 打 (hit/do) + 工 (work) + 人 (person) = person who does work
Literal compound: 打工 means to do wage labor (originally Cantonese slang), and 人 adds person. The term went viral around 2020 as a self-deprecating tag for grinding office workers.
打 — hand radical 扌 + nail 丁
打 combines the hand radical 扌 (action with the hand) with 丁 (originally a nail), suggesting striking or hitting with the hand. 丁 also serves as a phonetic hint in older readings. The meaning broadened from 'to strike' to a general verb for many hand-based actions, like 打电话 'make a phone call'.
人 — pictograph of a standing person
人 is a pictograph showing a person viewed from the side, with two strokes representing the legs and torso of a standing human. In oracle bone script it clearly depicted a figure leaning slightly forward. The meaning has remained 'person' or 'human' throughout its history.