主业 (zhǔ yè) — main occupation; primary career

Definition

'Main occupation / primary career,' contrasted with the side work or business one does on the side (副业). Often used for both a person's day job and a company's core business line.

noun
main occupationprimary career
Easily confused

Examples

  • 主业，。
    Tā de zhǔ yè shì jiào shī, yè yú shí jiān xiě xiǎo shuō.
    His main occupation is teaching; he writes novels in his spare time.
  • 主业。
    Gōng sī jué dìng bǎ zhǔ yè cóng líng shòu zhuǎn xiàng diàn zǐ shāng wù.
    The company decided to shift its primary business from retail to e-commerce.
  • 主业，。
    Chú le zhǔ yè zhī wài, tā hái jīng yíng yì jiā xiǎo cān guǎn.
    Besides his main job, he also runs a small restaurant.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

主zhǔmain
业yèoccupation

主 gives main and 业 gives occupation, so the word means the primary career.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The old forms that became 主 showed a lamp or torch with a flame at the top; other forms showed wood on fire or a spirit tablet.

Open 主 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 業; 业 is its simplified writing.

  • 丵丵zhuóchisel
  • 大大dàperson; big

The traditional 業 is explained as a picture of a beam from which bells and chimes hang, or as a person lifting that beam. The simplified 业 is a shorthand, not the original shape.

Open 业 →

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