Suffix attached to nouns indicating a type of worker, especially in industrial or manual contexts.
He works as a factory worker at an automobile plant.
He has worked as an electrician for ten years.
Many ironworkers live in this town.
功 (also read こう) means 'merit' or 'achievement', while 工 as a suffix means 'worker'; they sound identical but are unrelated in meaning.
Used when counting workers as people; 工 itself is not normally counted with a special counter.
The kanji 工 originally depicts a tool and means 'work' or 'craft'. As a suffix, it derives from its use in compounds to denote a person engaged in a specific trade.
process; operation; stage of work
industrial arts; craft; handicraft
tool; implement
commerce and industry
construction method; building technique
faculty of engineering; school of engineering; department of engineering
start of construction; starting construction work; breaking ground
completion of construction
woodworking; woodwork · carpenter; woodworker
engineering course; technical course
construction period; building time
engineering; engineering works
science and engineering; science and technology
factory worker
construction cost
arsenal; arms factory
institute of technology; engineering college
craft; technique; craftsmanship · craftsman; artisan; technician
workload; man-hours
heavy industry
electrician · electrical engineering · electric works (suffix)