TongTong
Sign in

重操旧业 (chóng cāo jiù yè) — to resume one's former occupation; to go back to one's old trade

Definition

A set phrase meaning to go back to a job or trade you did before. Often used for someone returning to an old profession after a break, retirement, or career change.

verb
to resume one's former occupationto go back to one's old trade

Examples

  • ，重操旧业，。
    Tuì xiū hòu, tā yòu chóng cāo jiù yè, kāi le yì jiā xiǎo fàn guǎn.
    After retirement, he resumed his former occupation by opening a small restaurant.
  • ，重操旧业，。
    Tā fàng qì dāng lǎo shī hòu, chóng xīn chóng cāo jiù yè, zuò huí le mù jiàng.
    After giving up being a teacher, he went back to his old trade and returned to carpentry.
  • ，重操旧业。
    Suī rán lí kāi háng yè duō nián, tā hái shì jué dìng chóng cāo jiù yè.
    Although she had been away from the industry for many years, she still decided to resume her former occupation.

Origin

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
人人rénman
Sound part声符shēngfú
東
東dōng重zhòng
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

重 developed from a picture of a man carrying a bag, with 人 for the man and 東 for the bag; a later ground element was folded into the form.

Open 重 →

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
手手shǒuhand
Sound part声符shēngfú
喿
喿zào操cāo
Close in sound todayThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The left part 手 shows a hand, indicating an action done by hand. The right part 喿 gives the sound.

Open 操 →

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 舊; 旧 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
雈雈huánowl
Sound part声符shēngfú
臼
臼jiù舊jiù
Same sound today

The traditional form of 旧 is 舊, which shows 雈, an owl, above 臼, which gives the sound.

Open 旧 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 業; 业 is its simplified writing.

  • 丵丵zhuóchisel
  • 大大dàperson; big

The traditional 業 is explained as a picture of a beam from which bells and chimes hang, or as a person lifting that beam. The simplified 业 is a shorthand, not the original shape.

Open 业 →
Appears in
Idioms & Set PhrasesProfessions & Jobs

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