also: つちかた
construction worker; laborer; navvy
Refers to a manual laborer, especially in construction or civil engineering. The term can carry a somewhat rough or old-fashioned nuance, and is sometimes considered sensitive or derogatory; more neutral alternatives include 建設作業員 or 土木作業員.
He worked as a construction laborer when he was young.
When he was young, he worked as a construction laborer.
This site needs many laborers.
He works as a construction laborer.
作業員 is a polite, neutral word for a worker on a job site, whereas 土方 is an older, sometimes disparaging term for the same kind of laborer.
人夫 is an older, similarly plain term for a manual laborer, close in register to 土方 but slightly less commonly viewed as offensive.
counter for people
Standard kanji spelling for the common reading どかた.
Rare reading; the same kanji is almost always read どかた in modern Japanese.
Compound of 土 (earth, soil) and 方 (person, direction). The reading どかた is a kun'yomi compound; the exact historical derivation is uncertain, but it has long referred to manual laborers working with earth and construction.