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专职 (zhuān zhí) — full-time job; dedicated post; specialized duty

Definition

专职 (zhuānzhí) refers to a full-time, dedicated post — the role someone is hired to do as their main job. Pairs naturally with 专人, the person assigned to a task, rather than 专项, the project itself.

noun
full-time jobdedicated postspecialized duty
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 专职。
    Tā zài gōng sī dān rèn zhuān zhí lǜ shī.
    He serves as a full-time lawyer at the company.
  • 专职。
    Zhè fèn zhuān zhí gōng zuò yā lì hěn dà.
    This full-time job comes with a lot of pressure.
  • 专职，。
    Tā cí qù zhuān zhí, kāi shǐ chuàng yè.
    She quit her full-time position and started a business.

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zhuāndedicated
职zhíduty

“专” means dedicated, and “职” is a duty, so “专职” is a duty held full time for one task.

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.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 職; 职 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
耳耳ěrear
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.

Open 职 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Professions & Jobs

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