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专攻 (zhuān gōng) — to specialize in (a field of study or profession)

Definition

A formal verb meaning to specialize in a specific academic or research field, narrower than 学习 ('study') — it signals deep, focused expertise in one area.

verb
to specialize in (a field of study or profession)

Examples

  • 专攻。
    Tā dà xué shí zhuān gōng zhōng guó gǔ dài shǐ.
    He specialized in ancient Chinese history during college.
  • 专攻，。
    Zhè wèi jiào shòu zhuān gōng shén jīng kē xué, zài yè nèi hěn yǒu míng.
    This professor specializes in neuroscience and is well-known in the field.
  • 专攻，。
    Tā jué dìng zhuān gōng rén gōng zhì néng, suǒ yǐ xuǎn le zhè mén kè.
    She decided to specialize in artificial intelligence, so she chose this course.

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.

专zhuānspecialized
攻gōngstudy

专 (specialized) and 攻 (study) combine to express focusing on a particular field.

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
攵Written in full as攴pūhand holding a tool or weapon
Sound part声符shēngfú
工
工gōng攻gōng
Same sound today

攻 puts 工, which gives the pronunciation, beside 攵, a hand holding a tool or weapon.

Open 攻 →
Appears in
School & Education

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