This is a very offensive word. Do not use it.

This is a very offensive word這是一個非常冒犯人的詞 Do not use it不要用

In colonial times, some English speakers used it for an unskilled worker paid almost nothing — porters, dock workers, railway builders — especially in South and East Asia. It treats a person as cheap muscle and nothing else.

In colonial times在殖民時代 some English speakers used it for有些說英語的人用它來稱呼 an unskilled worker paid almost nothing幾乎沒有薪水的非技術工人 porters, dock workers, railway builders像是搬運工、碼頭工人、鐵路工人 especially in South and East Asia尤其是在南亞和東亞 It treats a person as cheap muscle它把一個人當成廉價的勞力 and nothing else而已，別無其他

You may meet it in old books, films, or a history lesson; if you need to talk about that past, say labourer, porter, or the real job.

You may meet it你可能會遇到這個字 in old books, films, or a history lesson在舊書、電影，或歷史課裡 if you need to talk about that past如果你需要講那段過去 say labourer, porter, or the real job就說labourer（勞工）、porter（搬運工），或實際的工作名稱

It was borrowed from Hindustani (Hindi/Urdu qulī), “hired labourer.” From there the story forks: it may go back to Ottoman Turkish kul, “servant,” or it may be named after the Gujarati Koḷī community; related forms show up in Bengali and Tamil. Other old words for “low class” or even “shoulder” (the place you haul goods) may have coloured it. Scholars do not all agree.

It was borrowed from Hindustani它是從印度斯坦語（印地語／烏爾都語的qulī）借來的 hired labourer意思是「受雇的勞工」 From there the story forks從那之後說法就分岔了 it may go back to Ottoman Turkish kul, servant可能可以追溯到鄂圖曼土耳其語的kul，意思是「僕人」 or it may be named after the Gujarati Koḷī community或者是以古吉拉特的Koḷī族群命名的 related forms show up in Bengali and Tamil孟加拉語和坦米爾語裡也有類似的說法 Other old words for low class or even shoulder其他表示「低下階層」甚至「肩膀」（扛貨的地方）的舊詞 may have coloured it可能也影響了這個字的意思 Scholars do not all agree學者們的看法並不一致

Chinese 苦力 looks and feels like a match, and people here already know that cruel idea; the characters were probably chosen to fit both the sound and the meaning, but the English word did not start from Chinese.

Chinese 苦力 looks and feels like a match中文的「苦力」看起來、感覺起來都很吻合 and people here already know that cruel idea而這裡的人也早就知道那種殘酷的意涵 the characters were probably chosen to fit both the sound and the meaning這幾個字大概是同時考量了讀音和意思才選的 but the English word did not start from Chinese但英文這個字並不是從中文來的

What you need is simple: it is a slur. Leave it in the past.

What you need is simple你需要知道的很簡單 it is a slur這是一個侮辱性的詞 Leave it in the past讓它留在過去就好