下海 (xià hǎi) — (literal) to put out to sea; to go to sea; (figurative, historical) to leave a state-sector job and start a private business; to venture into the market economy
Definition
下海 is a two-character verb with a vivid metaphor: literally 'go to sea', but figuratively used since the 1990s for leaving a secure state-sector job to start a private business. The literal sense applies to fishing or sailing.
verb
(literal) to put out to seato go to sea(figurative, historical) to leave a state-sector job and start a private businessto venture into the market economy
Examples
- 下海。Yú mín men yí dà zǎo jiù xià hǎi bǔ yú qù le.The fishermen went out to sea early in the morning to fish.
- ，下海。Jiǔ shí nián dài, hěn duō rén xuǎn zé xià hǎi jīng shāng.In the 1990s, many people chose to go into business.
- ，。Tā xià le hǎi yǐ hòu, shōu rù zēng jiā le hěn duō.After he went into business, his income increased a lot.
Appears in
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