劳
láo
(bound form) to toil; labor
(bound form) laborer; (bound form) meritorious deed; (bound form) fatigue; to put sb to the trouble (of doing sth); to express one's appreciation (Taiwan pr. [lao4])
grass (艹) + cover (冖) + strength (力) = toiling with all one's might
The original image is of flames (火) burning under a roof at night, with strength (力) below — evoking the exhausting effort of working by torchlight. Over time the top element was written as 艹, but the core idea of strenuous, draining toil remains.
这份工作很辛苦，大家都为此付出了很多劳动。
zhè fèn gōng zuò hěn xīn kǔ, dà jiā dōu wèi cǐ fù chū le hěn duō láo dòng。
This job is very hard; everyone put in a lot of labor for it.
长时间工作让他感到疲劳，需要好好休息一下。
cháng shí jiān gōng zuò ràng tā gǎn dào pí láo, xū yào hǎo hǎo xiū xi yī xià。
Working for a long time made him feel fatigued, and he needed to rest well.
Words with 劳
劳苦
láo kǔ
to toil
犒劳
kào láo
to reward with food and drink
过劳
guò láo
overwork
劳动节
láo dòng jié
International Labor Day (May Day)
劳动改造
láo dòng gǎi zào
reeducation through labor
朝鲜劳动党
cháo xiǎn láo dòng dǎng
Workers' Party of Korea (WPK), the ruling party of North Korea
布劳恩
bù láo ēn
Browne (person name)
劳动合同
láo dòng hé tong
labor contract
克劳德
kè láo dé
Claude (name)
多劳多得
duō láo duō dé
work more and get more
徒劳无功
tú láo wú gōng
to work to no avail (idiom)
施特劳斯
shī tè láo sī
Strauss (name)