工程

• Pinyin: gōng chéng
• Hanzi breakdown: 工 = pictograph of a carpenter's tool — work/craft; 程 = 禾 (grain) + 呈 (present) — a process or journey

Meaning

Engineering; project; construction work. A large-scale undertaking involving planning, design, and execution.

Can refer to both the academic discipline of engineering (工程学) and specific construction or development projects. Common collocations include 建筑工程 (construction project), 工程师 (engineer), 土木工程 (civil engineering), and 软件工程 (software engineering).

Examples

1. 这个建筑工程预计明年完工。 This construction project is expected to be completed next year.
2. 他大学学的是土木工程专业。 He studied civil engineering in university.
3. 这项工程的难度比我们想象的大。 The difficulty of this project is greater than we imagined.

Usage Guide

Context: professional, academic

Tone: technical

Do Say

• 这个工程需要三年才能完成。(This project will take three years to complete.)
• 她毕业于工程专业。(She graduated from an engineering programme.)

Don't Say

• 写作业是一个大工程 (Slightly exaggerated for homework — 工程 implies large-scale projects; for smaller tasks, use 任务 or say it humorously with 大工程)

Origin & History

工 (work/craft, pictograph of a tool) + 程 (procedure/course, from 禾 grain + 呈 present). The organised process of building or creating something on a large scale.

Cultural Context

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal