仕途 (shì tú) — official career; career as a government official

Definition

仕途 (shìtú) is a formal/literary noun meaning the path of a government official — used almost entirely in writing or elevated speech, not everyday talk.

noun
official careercareer as a government official
Easily confused

Examples

  • 仕途。
    Tā nián qīng shí biàn lì zhì zǒu shì tú.
    He resolved to pursue an official career when he was young.
  • 仕途，。
    shì tú Bìng fēi yì fān fēng shùn, xū yào zhì huì hé nài xīn.
    An official career is not all smooth sailing; it requires wisdom and patience.
  • 仕途，。
    Tā zài shì tú shàng fèn dòu le sān shí nián, zuì zhōng chéng wéi zǎi xiàng.
    He struggled in his official career for thirty years and eventually became the prime minister.

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.

仕shìofficial
途túpath

仕途 pictures an official life as a 途, a road of 仕.

Characters in this word

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
⺅Written in full as人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
士
士shì仕shì
Same sound today

仕 pairs ⺅ (person) with 士, which sounds like 仕 and means a person in an official role, so the shape shows someone serving as an official.

Open 仕 →

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
辶Written in full as辵chuò
Sound part声符shēngfú
余
余yú途
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

途 is made from 辶 (written fully as 辵), a walking part, and 余, which gives the sound.

Open 途 →

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