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资深 (zī shēn) — veteran, senior, highly experienced (of a person in a professional field)

Definition

Describes a person with long, deep experience in a professional field — modifies the role (资深记者, 资深教授), not the person themselves. 与名词 高级 ('high-ranking') differ in focus: 资深 stresses accumulated expertise, not status.

adjective
veteranseniorhighly experienced (of a person in a professional field)

Examples

  • 资深。
    Tā shì wǒ men gōng sī zuì zī shēn de yuán gōng zhī yī.
    He is one of the most senior employees in our company.
  • 资深。
    Zhè wèi zī shēn jiào shòu zài xué shù jiè hěn yǒu míng.
    This veteran professor is very famous in academia.
  • 资深。
    Yí wèi zī shēn dǎo yǎn pāi shè le zhè bù diàn yǐng.
    A veteran director directed this movie.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
主谓zhǔwèiSubject + predicate

A small sentence frozen into a word: something, and what it does or is.

资zīexperience or standing
深shēndeep

资深 pairs 资 (experience or standing) with 深 (deep), suggesting that a person's experience is deep.

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 資; 资 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
貝貝bèishell-money
Sound part声符shēngfú
次
次cì資zī
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 資 puts 次 above 貝, a shell-money sign, to write property or resource; 次 supplies the sound. The simplified 资 is a shorthand, so do not treat its parts as historical.

Open 资 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
𥥍
𥥍𥥍深shēn
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

深 is built from 氵, the side form of 水 “water”, and 𥥍, which supplies the sound.

Open 深 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9HSK 2.0 Level 6Workplace & Office

Browse more HSK 7-9 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.