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外勤 (wài qín) — (n.) field work, work done outside the office; (n.) field staff, person who works in the field

Definition

外勤 covers two senses: the work itself (tasks done outside the office) and the people who do it (field staff). The verb 出外勤 means 'to go out on a field assignment.'

noun
(n.) field workwork done outside the office(n.) field staffperson who works in the field

Examples

  • ，。
    Tā měi tiān dōu yào chū wài qín, hěn shǎo dài zài bàn gōng shì.
    He has to go out on field work every day, rarely staying in the office.
  • 外勤，。
    Gōng sī xīn zhāo le sān gè wài qín, fù zé shì chǎng diào yán.
    The company hired three new field staff responsible for market research.
  • 外勤，。
    Zhè cì wài qín rèn wu hěn zhòng, xū yào liǎng zhōu cái néng wán chéng.
    This field work assignment is very heavy and requires two weeks to complete.

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.

外wàioutside
勤qínwork

外 means outside and 勤 means work or duty, together giving the sense of work done outside the office.

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
卜卜bǔ
Sound part声符shēngfú
月
月yuè外wài
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

外 pairs 卜 with 月, a crescent moon; in its older form, the 卜 part had a horizontal bar extending outward, giving the sense of outside.

Open 外 →

No reliable origin is recorded for this character.

Open 勤 →
Appears in
Professions & JobsWorkplace & Office

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