Meaning
人工 literally means 'human work' and has two main uses: as a noun referring to manual labor or the cost of labor, and as an adjective meaning artificial or man-made (as opposed to natural). It's commonly used in contexts involving construction, manufacturing, and discussing whether something is natural or synthetic.
Usage
When used as a noun, 人工 often appears in phrases discussing labor costs (人工费 'labor fees') or manual work. As an adjective, it typically modifies nouns to indicate something is artificial or synthetic, like 人工智能 'artificial intelligence'. In contrast to 天然 (natural), 人工 emphasizes human creation or intervention.
Examples
- 01这个项目的人工成本太高了。.The labor costs for this project are too high.
- 02人工智能正在改变我们的生活。.Artificial intelligence is changing our lives.
Characters
Common collocations
- 人工智能artificial intelligence (AI)
- 人工费labor cost
- 人工呼吸artificial respiration, CPR
- 人工湖artificial lake
Antonyms
Origin
Combines 人 (person) and 工 (work/labor) to literally mean 'human work,' which naturally extends to both the concept of manual labor and things made by human effort rather than occurring naturally.