文职 (wén zhí) — civilian post | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A non-combat, administrative role in the military or government — the civilian-side counterpart to officer/active-duty posts. Use 个 as the measure word (一个文职).

noun

civilian post

Measure word · 个

Examples

文职。
Tā zài zhèng fǔ dān rèn wén zhí.
He holds a civilian post in the government.
文职。
Fù qīn tuì xiū qián yì zhí zuò wén zhí.
Father worked a civilian post until retirement.
文职。
Cóng jūn zhuǎn wén zhí de rén xū yào chóng xīn péi xùn.
People transitioning from military to civilian posts need retraining.

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.

文 civil and 职 post combine to mean a civilian job.

Characters in this word

An abstract idea shown by a mark or a diagram rather than by a picture of an object.

The current form 文 shows a man with head, arms, legs, and chest; the tattoo marks on the chest are no longer drawn.

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.

Appears in

Professions & Jobs

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