工薪阶层 (gōng xīn jiē céng) — wage earners, salaried workers (as a social class)
Definition
Refers to people who live on a salary or wages as a social class — typically office workers and blue-collar employees, contrasted with business owners or investors.
noun
wage earnerssalaried workers (as a social class)
Examples
- 工薪阶层。Hěn duō gōng xīn jiē céng dōu zài wèi fáng dài hé shēng huó fèi ér máng lù.Many wage earners are busy with mortgage and living expenses.
- 工薪阶层。gōng xīn jiē céng De shōu rù zēng zhǎng gēn bú shàng fáng jià de shàng zhǎng.The income growth of wage earners can't keep up with the rise in housing prices.
- 工薪阶层，。Tā shì yí gè pǔ tōng de gōng xīn jiē céng, měi tiān zhāo jiǔ wǎn wǔ dì gōng zuò.She is an ordinary wage earner, working nine-to-five every day.
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.
工薪 refers to wages or salary, and 阶层 means social stratum, so the word denotes wage earners as a class.
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