仕 (shì) — (bound form) to serve as an official; office-holding (in literary/formal contexts)
Definition
仕 is a bound classical form meaning 'to serve as an official,' appearing only in set phrases like 仕途 ('official career') and 入仕 ('enter officialdom').
bound form
to serve as an officialoffice-holding (in literary/formal contexts)
Easily confused
- 什shénlook-aliketen (used in financial contexts to prevent forgery)
- 是shìsound-aliketo be (linking verb, followed by a noun or noun phrase)
- 事shìsound-alikething; matter; affair
- 试shìsound-aliketo try; to test
- 室shìsound-alikeroom (often as a suffix in compound words)
- 式shìsound-alike(suffix) -style; -type; -form; -pattern
Examples
- ，。Tā zǒu shàng le shì tú, kāi shǐ le guān chǎng shēng huó.He embarked on an official career and began life in officialdom.
- ，仕。Zài gǔ dài, hěn duō dú shū rén xī wàng rù shì.In ancient times, many scholars hoped to enter officialdom.
- 。Tā de shì tú bìng bú shùn lì.His official career was not smooth.
Origin
Sound + meaning六书liùshū
形声xíngshēngMost characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.
仕 pairs ⺅ (person) with 士, which sounds like 仕 and means a person in an official role, so the shape shows someone serving as an official.
Appears in
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