实干家 (shí gàn jiā) — person of action, doer (who gets things done)

Definition

A “doer” or “man of action” — someone who gets things done rather than just talking. The 家 suffix marks a specialist or person strongly associated with the trait (实干), so it implies a consistent, practical habit, not a one-time effort.

noun
person of actiondoer (who gets things done)
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 实干家，。
    Tā shì yí gè zhēn zhèng de shí gàn jiā, bú shì zhǐ shuō bú zuò de rén.
    He is a true person of action, not someone who only talks but doesn't act.
  • 实干家。
    Gōng sī xū yào yí gè shí gàn jiā lái lǐng dǎo zhè ge xiàng mù.
    The company needs a doer to lead this project.
  • 实干家，。
    Tā shì wǒ men tuán duì lǐ de shí gàn jiā, zǒng shì dì yī gè xíng dòng.
    She is the doer in our team, always the first to act.

Origin

Derived word
构词法gòucífǎ
后缀hòuzhuìSuffix

A fixed syllable at the end that turns the word into a noun, a person, a place or the like.

实干practical work
实shísolid干gāndo
偏正Modifier + head
家jiāperson

实干 means solid work, and 家 points to a person who does that work.

Characters in this word

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

This origin belongs to the traditional form 實; 实 is its simplified writing.

  • 宀宀miánroof
  • 周周zhōucarved jade
  • 貝貝bèishellfish; cowrie

The traditional form 實 has 宀 'roof' above 周 'carved jade' and 貝 'cowrie'; the simplified 实 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical pieces.

Open 实 →

The simplified 干 stands for more than one traditional character. In most words (饼干, 干杯) it is 乾; in others (干, 干活儿) (干扰) it is 幹 or 干.

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 乾; 干 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
乙乙yǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
倝
倝gàn乾gān
Same sound today
Open 干 →

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
宀宀miánroof
Sound part声符shēngfú
𢑓
𢑓𢑓家jiā
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The early drawing of 家 showed a roof 宀 over a male-pig sign 𢑓 that gave the pronunciation; the lower part later changed shape.

Open 家 →

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