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兼职 (jiān zhí) — (verb) to work part-time; to moonlight; (noun) part-time job; concurrent job

Definition

兼职 is a part-time job (noun) or the act of working one (verb) — focus is the 'part-time' side, not holding multiple roles. 兼任 means holding concurrent full-time posts; 兼顾 means balancing several things at once.

verb
to work part-timeto moonlight
noun
part-time jobconcurrent job
Measure word · 份

Examples

  • 兼职。
    Tā zài yì jiā gōng sī zuò jiān zhí.
    He works part-time at a company.
  • 兼职。
    Zhè fèn jiān zhí de gōng zī méi yǒu zhèng cháng de gōng zuò gāo.
    The salary for this part-time job is not as high as that of a regular job.
  • 兼职。
    Hěn duō xué shēng zuò jiān zhí zhuàn shēng huó fèi.
    Many students work part-time to earn living expenses.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

兼jiānhold at the same time
职zhíjob

兼 (hold at the same time) and 职 (job) build the idea of a concurrent job.

Characters in this word

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

The shape of 兼 pictures a hand holding two grain stalks, showing two things together.

Open 兼 →

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 職; 职 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
Sound part声符shēngfú
戠
戠zhí職zhí
Same sound today

The traditional form 職 pairs 耳 (ear) with 戠, which gives its sound; the simplified 职 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

Open 职 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Workplace & OfficeProfessions & Jobs

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