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职位 (zhí wèi) — position, post, job

Definition

A specific post or role within an organization, like 'a position at a company'. More concrete than 职业 (your general profession/field) and narrower than 工作 (work in general).

noun
positionpostjob
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 职位。
    Tā duì zhè fèn zhí wèi hěn mǎn yì.
    She is very satisfied with this position.
  • 职位。
    Gōng sī xū yào zhāo pìn liǎng gè xīn de zhí wèi.
    The company needs to hire two new positions.
  • 职位。
    Zhè ge zhí wèi yāo qiú yǒu wǔ nián gōng zuò jīng yàn.
    This position requires five years of work experience.

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.

职zhíjob
位wèiposition

职 gives the idea of a job, and 位 gives the idea of a position, naming a job 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 職; 职 is its simplified writing.

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 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
立
立lì位wèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

位 combines 人 (man), related to people, with 立, which gives the sound. It was often simply written as 立.

Open 位 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Workplace & OfficeProfessions & Jobs5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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