Is 土方 a common term for a "construction worker"?


In American English "construction worker" can refer to any manual labor worker
at a construction site. Is 土方{どかた} a common term to refer to such person in
Japan?




土方 is a common word, but if you want a neutral term that is usable in news
articles, essays and such, (建築/土木)作業員 is better.

土方 tends to have a negative/derogatory undertone, and we never see it used in
government documents and such. Basically I always refrain from referring to
someone as 土方. Some broadcasting companies even have explicitly prohibited it
as a discriminatory word.

> [日本語俗語辞書](http://zokugo-dict.com/20to/dokata.htm)  
>
> 土方とは道路工事や治水工事、建築における土木作業員のことである。ただし、土方は差別意識を伴って使われることが多く、土木作業員の中でも特に資格や技術を必要としない部署で働く人や日雇い労働者をイメージして使われることが多い。

Related: [In what type of social settings could one say
"百姓{ひゃくしょう}"?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/24660/5010)




土方 is a common word, but if you want a neutral term that is usable in news
articles, essays and such, (建築/土木)作業員 is better.

土方 tends to have a negative/derogatory undertone, and we never see it used in
government documents and such. Basically I always refrain from referring to
someone as 土方. Some broadcasting companies even have explicitly prohibited it
as a discriminatory word.

> [日本語俗語辞書](http://zokugo-dict.com/20to/dokata.htm)  
>
> 土方とは道路工事や治水工事、建築における土木作業員のことである。ただし、土方は差別意識を伴って使われることが多く、土木作業員の中でも特に資格や技術を必要としない部署で働く人や日雇い労働者をイメージして使われることが多い。

Related: [In what type of social settings could one say
"百姓{ひゃくしょう}"?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/24660/5010)

