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事业 (shì yè) — career; occupation; cause; undertaking

Definition

事业 is 'career/cause' with a sense of mission or larger purpose, not just a job — broader and more idealistic than 职业 ('occupation, profession').

noun
careeroccupationcauseundertaking
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 事业。
    Tā bǎ yì shēng de shí jiān dōu tóu rù le jiào yù shì yè.
    He devoted his whole life to the cause of education.
  • 事业。
    Měi gè rén dōu yǒu zì jǐ de shì yè yào zhuī qiú.
    Everyone has their own career to pursue.
  • 事业。
    Chuàng yè chéng gōng shì tā yì shēng zuì dà de shì yè.
    Starting a successful business was the greatest undertaking of his life.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

事shìundertaking
业yèoccupation

事 and 业 together denote work and enterprise, hence a career or cause.

Characters in this word

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

In 事, 又 is a hand and 中 is a flagpole with a drum; holding a flag in hand depicts performing a job.

Open 事 →

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
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