Definition

1. Noun:
   • Laborious effort / painstaking work: Refers to the hard work, toil, and significant effort one invests in a task or over a period of time. It emphasizes the strenuous and diligent nature of the work.
   • Reward for labor / meager wages: Can denote the compensation, pay, or reward received for such hard work, often implying it is modest or insufficient.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • Công lênh chẳng quản bao lâu. (One does not mind how long the laborious effort takes.)
  • Công lênh chẳng được là bao. (The reward for the labor is not much at all.)

Advanced Usage

• The term is primarily used in a classical or poetic context, often found in folk poetry () or literature to evoke the value of hard work or the disproportion between effort and reward.

Variants and Related Words

• Công lao (n): merit, contribution; often used for significant achievements or contributions deserving recognition.
• Công sức (n): effort, exertion; a more common modern term for the physical or mental effort put into work.

Synonyms

• Toil: exhausting physical labor.
• Labor: hard work, especially physical work.
• Stipend: a fixed regular sum paid as a salary or allowance, often small.

Related Idioms

• The word itself is often used in set phrases from traditional verses, as shown in the examples. It conveys a traditional, sometimes resigned, perspective on work and its compensation.