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一席之地 (yī xí zhī de) — (idiom) a place or position one occupies in a particular field or group; a niche

Definition

An idiom meaning 'a place of one's own' in a field, group, or market — always used with verbs like 占有 or 占 to show someone has earned a niche. A literary, written register; not used in casual speech.

idiom
a place or position one occupies in a particular field or groupa niche

Examples

  • 一席之地。
    Tā zài guó jì xué shù jiè zhàn yǒu yī xí zhī de.
    He occupies a place in the international academic community.
  • ，。
    Suí zhe chuàng xīn shè jì, zhè ge pǐn pái zài shì chǎng shàng zhàn yǒu yì xí zhī dì.
    With innovative design, this brand has carved out a place in the market.
  • 一席之地。
    Tā zài wén xué jiè yě zhàn yǒu yī xí zhī de.
    She also occupies a place in the literary world.

Origin

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

一 is drawn as one horizontal stroke, marking the number one.

Open 一 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

席 originally showed a woven mat with an ornament. In 席, the mat became 巾, and a later sound part was written as 庶.

Open 席 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

Open 之 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
也
也yě地dì
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

地 is built from 土 (earth) and 也, which gives its sound.

Open 地 →
Appears in
Abstract ConceptsIdioms & Set Phrases

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