TongTong
Sign in

工业 (gōng yè) — industry

Definition

工业 (gōngyè) is the abstract 'industry' of a country or region — manufacturing and production as a whole sector. 工厂 is a single factory, and 行业 is a trade or profession (not necessarily manufacturing).

noun
industry

Examples

  • 工业。
    Zhè ge chéng shì de gōng yè fā zhǎn dé hěn kuài.
    This city's industry is developing very fast.
  • 工业。
    Tā dà xué bì yè hòu zài gōng yè lǐng yù gōng zuò.
    After graduating from college, he works in the industrial field.
  • 工业。
    Hěn duō guó jiā de gōng yè dōu zài xiàng lǜ sè zhuǎn xíng.
    The industries in many countries are transitioning toward green.

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.

工gōngwork
业yèoccupation

“工” (work) and “业” (occupation) form the broad activity of industry.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The shape of 工 is a picture of a bladed tool used to plow ground or mark a border; some read it as a carpenter's square.

Open 工 →

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 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 5HSK 2.0 Level 5Industry & Manufacturing

Browse more HSK 5 words or search the full 43,000-word dictionary.