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硕士 (shuò shì) — master's degree; person who holds a master's degree

Definition

硕士 refers to the master's degree — and, like 博士 or 硕士, can also mean the person who holds it. Distinct from 知识分子 (intellectuals) and 学子 (students), which describe people by role, not by degree earned.

noun
master's degreeperson who holds a master's degree
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 硕士。
    Tā zhèng zài dú shuò shì.
    She is studying for a master's degree.
  • 硕士。
    Wǒ jiě jie shì wén xué shuò shì.
    My sister is a master of literature.
  • 硕士。
    Tā ná dào le shuò shì xué wèi.
    He obtained a master's degree.

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.

硕shuògreat
士shìscholar

硕 (great) and 士 (scholar) combine to mean a great scholar.

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 碩; 硕 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
頁頁yè
Sound part声符shēngfú
石
石shí碩shuò
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 碩 puts 石 beside 頁: 石 gives the sound, and 頁 is the meaning part; the simplified 硕 is a shorthand.

Open 硕 →

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

The shape 士 comes from a simple drawing of a war axe. The character later came to mean a soldier, officer, or intellectual.

Open 士 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 4HSK 2.0 Level 4School & Education

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