离职 (lí zhí) — to leave one's job; to resign (may be temporary…

Definition

离职 means leaving a job, often temporarily, and emphasizes the formal process (办理离职手续). Unlike 辞职, it does not always mean quitting for good; it is neutral about permanence.

verb

to leave one's jobto resign (may be temporary or permanent)

Examples

离职。
Tā yīn wèi gè rén yuán yīn lí zhí le.
He left his job for personal reasons.
，。
Tā qù nián lí guò yí cì zhí, hòu lái yòu huí lái le.
He left a job once last year, but then came back.
离职。
Gōng sī zhèng zài bāng tā bàn lǐ lí zhí shǒu xù.
The company is helping her go through the resignation procedure.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

离líleave

职zhíjob

“离” means to leave, and “职” means job, so together it means to leave one's position.

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 離; 离 is its simplified writing.

离隹離

Meaning part形符xíngfú

隹隹zhuībird

Sound part声符shēngfú

离

离lí離lí

Same sound today

The traditional form 離 pairs 隹, a bird, with the sound part 离; the simplified 离 is a shorthand. This form first wrote a black-naped oriole, and the sound was borrowed for 'leave'.

Open 离 →

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.

Open 职 →