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专家 (zhuān jiā) — expert, specialist

Definition

A professional 'expert' (a person) recognized for formal knowledge in a field — more credentialed than the everyday 高手, which usually means a skilled practitioner (often in games, sports, crafts).

noun
expertspecialist
Measure word · 位

Examples

  • 专家。
    Zhè wèi zhuān jiā duì lì shǐ hěn yǒu yán jiū.
    This expert has done a lot of research on history.
  • 专家。
    Gōng sī qǐng le yí wèi fǎ lǜ zhuān jiā lái bāng máng.
    The company hired a legal expert to help.
  • ，专家。
    Tā jīng guò duō nián xué xí, zhōng yú chéng le zhuān jiā.
    After many years of study, he finally became an expert.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

专zhuānspecialized
家jiāperson

专 means specialized and 家 refers to a person, so together they name a specialized person.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 專; 专 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 專 shows 又, a hand, turning 叀, a spindle; this came to mean gathering several things into one.

Open 专 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →
Appears in
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