Work bull work horse (当牛做马) — Chinglish Slang

Slang Name：Work bull work horse

Chinese：当牛做马

Type：Business Speak / Chinglish Slang

English：
A vivid Chinese expression of workplace exhaustion: "working like a bull and a horse" — meaning working extremely hard, doing the heaviest labor, often for little reward. It's the Chinese version of "work like a dog" but with farm animals that carry the heaviest burdens in Chinese agriculture.

中文：
一个生动的中国职场疲惫表达："像牛马一样工作"——意味着工作极其辛苦，做着最重的活，却往往回报很少。相当于"work like a dog"的中文版，但用的是中国传统农业中承载最重负担的牛和马。

In traditional Chinese agriculture, oxen/bulls plowed the fields and horses pulled carts — the hardest, most essential labor. "当牛做马" (dāng niú zuò mǎ, literally "be a bull, be a horse") came to describe anyone doing back-breaking work for little reward. In modern Chinese business, workers use this phrase to complain about overwork, low pay, and being treated like beasts of burden.

中文：在中国传统农业中，牛耕田，马拉车——最辛苦也最重要的劳动。"当牛做马"用来形容任何人做着艰苦工作却得到很少回报。在现代中国商务中，工人们用这个短语抱怨过度工作、低薪和像牛马一样被对待。