职 (zhí) — (bound form) duty, job, profession, post, office
Definition
职 is a bound morpheme meaning 'post / position / job', almost always embedded in compounds like 职业, 职位, 辞职, 兼职. It is the formal, written element — 业 is the more colloquial counterpart (as in 工作 vs 职业).
bound form
dutyjobprofessionpostoffice
Examples
- 。Tā zhǎo dào le yí fèn xīn zhí yè.He found a new occupation.
- 。Zhè ge zhí wèi yāo qiú yǒu wǔ nián jīng yàn.This position requires five years of experience.
- 。Tā dǎ suàn cí zhí qù chuàng yè.She plans to resign and start a business.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost 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.
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.
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