Definition
脏活 (zàng huó) is a noun meaning 'dirty work'. It can refer literally to physically dirty tasks like cleaning or garbage collection, and figuratively to unpleasant or morally dubious jobs that others avoid. The figurative sense is common in expressions like 干脏活 ('do the dirty work').
n
physically dirty workmenial labor(figurative) dirty workunpleasant or ethically questionable tasks
Examples
- 脏活。Tā měitiān dōu zuò zàng huó.He does dirty work every day.
- 脏活。Méi rén xiǎng zuò zhège zàng huó.No one wants to do this dirty work.
- 脏活。Xǐ cèsuǒ shì zàng huó zhī yī.Cleaning the toilet is one kind of dirty work.
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