工龄 (gōng líng) — length of service; seniority | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

noun

length of serviceseniority

Examples

工龄。
Tā de gōng líng yǐ jīng yǒu èr shí nián le.
His length of service is already twenty years.
工龄。
Gōng sī de fú lì dài yù gēn jù gōng líng lái jì suàn.
The company's benefits are calculated based on length of service.
工龄，。
Tā de gōng líng bǐ wǒ de cháng, suǒ yǐ gōng zī gèng gāo.
His length of service is longer than mine, so his salary is higher.

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 names work and 龄 names years, giving the number of years worked.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 工 is a picture of a bladed tool used to plow ground or mark a border; some read it as a carpenter's square.

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 齡; 龄 is its simplified writing.

齒令齡

Meaning part形符xíngfú

齒齒chǐtooth

Sound part声符shēngfú

令

令lìng齡líng

Same sound today

The traditional form 齡 shows 齒, a tooth, associated with age, and 令 for the sound; simplified 龄 is a later shorthand.

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