尽职 (jìn zhí) — to fulfill one's duty; to do one's job conscien…

Definition

A formal verb meaning 'to fulfill one's duty / do one's job conscientiously,' typically used for professional roles. It pairs naturally with 尽责 as a set phrase meaning 'to be dutiful and responsible.'

verb

to fulfill one's dutyto do one's job conscientiously

Examples

尽职，。
Tā yì zhí hěn jìn zhí, cóng bù tōu lǎn.
He has always been very dutiful and never slacks off.
。
Tā zài zhè cì rèn wu zhōng jìn le yí fèn zhí.
He did his part in this mission.
。
Měi gè yuán gōng dōu yīng gāi jìn zhí jìn zé.
Every employee should fulfill their duties and responsibilities.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

尽jìnfulfill

职zhíduty

尽 means fulfill and 职 means duty, so the word means to carry out one's duty.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 盡; 尽 is its simplified writing.

聿聿yùhand holding a brush
灬灬huǒbristles
皿皿mǐndish

The traditional form 盡 shows 聿 (hand holding a brush) and 灬 (bristles) over 皿 (dish), cleaning a dish until it is empty. The simplified 尽 is a shorthand, not those historical parts.

Open 尽 →

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.

耳戠職

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 →