在业 (zài yè) — to be employed, to have a job

Definition

In formal/administrative contexts (resumes, forms, statistics), 在业 specifically means 'currently employed.' Unlike 失业 ('unemployed') or 待业 ('job-seeking'), it states employment status, not just having worked.

verb
to be employedto have a job

Examples

  • 在业，。
    Tā xiàn zài zài yè, bú yòng kào jiā lǐ.
    He is employed now and doesn't need to rely on his family.
  • ，。
    Tā zài le yè èr shí nián, jīng yàn fēi cháng fēng fù.
    He has been employed for twenty years and is very experienced.
  • 在业。
    Tā bì yè hòu jiù yì zhí zài yè.
    He has been employed ever since graduation.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

An action followed by what it acts on, fused into one word.

在zàibe at
业yèemployment

在 means to be at and 业 means employment, together saying being at work.

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.

The early form of 在 used 才 for its sound; a second sound part 士 was added later, and that 士 became the 土 seen in 在.

Open 在 →

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 →

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