事业 (shì yè) — career; occupation; cause; undertaking

Definition

事业 is 'career/cause' with a sense of mission or larger purpose, not just a job — broader and more idealistic than 职业 ('occupation, profession').

noun
careeroccupationcauseundertaking
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 事业。
    Tā bǎ yì shēng de shí jiān dōu tóu rù le jiào yù shì yè.
    He devoted his whole life to the cause of education.
  • 事业。
    Měi gè rén dōu yǒu zì jǐ de shì yè yào zhuī qiú.
    Everyone has their own career to pursue.
  • 事业。
    Chuàng yè chéng gōng shì tā yì shēng zuì dà de shì yè.
    Starting a successful business was the greatest undertaking of his life.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

事shìundertaking
业yèoccupation

事 and 业 together denote work and enterprise, hence a career or cause.

Characters in this word

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →

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 →
Appears in
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