勞

The glyph centers on taxing physical exertion, oscillating between the act and its effect:

• The Act: To labor, to toil, or to engage in hard manual work.
• The Effect: Fatigue, exhaustion, or being worn down by effort.
• Mental Exertion: When applied to the mind or heart (e.g., 勞心), it denotes the depletion of vitality caused by anxiety, deep deliberation, or the burdens of governance.
• Merit and Reward: In administrative, courtly, or military contexts, it can refer to rewards, compensation, or honors granted in recognition of hardship and merit.

• Verb: To work hard; to exhaust/wear out.
• Adjective: Weary; fatigued.
• Noun: Labor; hardship; a reward for merit.

Contrast with 累: while both involve burden and exhaustion, 勞 typically emphasizes the exertion of energy (burning out), whereas 累 emphasizes the accumulation of burdens (being weighted down).

The variant U+52B3 replaces the plow component (耒) with the hand (扌); this generally maintains the core meaning but may signal a broader application to general manual labor beyond agricultural work.