操劳 (cāo láo)

Character breakdown

• 操 (cāo) · 16 strokes

  Phonosemantic compound. 扌 represents the meaning and 喿 represents the sound. Simplified form of 撡.

• 劳 (láo) · 7 strokes

  Simplified form of 勞. Depicts the hard work of sewing clothes (衣) with only firelight (炏). Later the 力 (strength, power) component was added.