杂役 (zá yì) — odd jobs, menial chores; a handyman, odd-jobber

Definition

Literary/classical term for low-status household or shop chores and the person who does them. Conveys 'menial servant' more strongly than the everyday 干活.

noun
odd jobsmenial choresa handymanodd-jobber
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 杂役。
    Tā zài diàn lǐ zuò gè zhǒng zá yì.
    He does all kinds of odd jobs in the shop.
  • 杂役。
    Wǒ men gù le yí gè zá yì lái bāng máng xiū dōng xī.
    We hired a handyman to help fix things.
  • 杂役，。
    zá yì Suī rán xīn kǔ, dàn yě shì gōng zuò de yí bù fen.
    Odd jobs are hard, but they're still part of work.

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.

杂zámiscellaneous
役yìlabor

杂 means miscellaneous and 役 means service or labor, so the word names odd jobs or chores.

Characters in this word

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 雜; 杂 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
衣衣yī
Sound part声符shēngfú
集
集jí雜zá
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 雜 pairs 衣 (clothes) with 集 as a sound part, originally referring to mixed colours, perhaps in dyed clothes; the simplified 杂 is a later shorthand.

Open 杂 →

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

  • 彳彳chìmovement; action
  • 殳殳shūa weapon, like a spear

役 pairs 彳 (movement) with 殳 (a weapon like a spear) to show someone moving with a weapon to guard a border, giving the idea of a duty or task.

Open 役 →

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