借调 (jiè diào) — to temporarily transfer (an employee); to second

Definition

A workplace term meaning to temporarily transfer or second an employee to another unit while they remain on their original payroll. Shares the 'borrow' character with 借 (borrow/lend) but refers to personnel, not objects.

verb
to temporarily transfer (an employee)to second

Examples

  • 借调。
    Gōng sī bǎ tā jiè diào dào qí tā bù mén.
    The company temporarily transferred him to another department.
  • 借调。
    Tā jiè diào dào běi jīng gōng zuò le yì nián.
    He was seconded to work in Beijing for a year.
  • 借调，。
    jiè diào Qī jiān, tā de gōng zī bǎo chí bú biàn.
    During the secondment, his salary remained unchanged.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

借jièborrow
调tiáotransfer

借 and 调 both describe moving staff: borrowing and reassigning.

Characters in this word

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
人人rénperson
Sound part声符shēngfú
昔
昔xī借jiè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

借 combines 人, a person, with 昔, which shows the sound.

Open 借 →

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 調; 调 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yán
Sound part声符shēngfú
周
周zhōu調tiáo
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 調 pairs 言 (speech) with 周, which shows how it was pronounced. The simplified 调 is a later shorthand.

Open 调 →

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