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生涯 (shēng yá) — career; life period (a significant phase of one's life, e.g. college or professional career)

Definition

生涯 means a specific phase or trajectory of one's life, usually 事业, education, or some long pursuit — narrower than 人生 ('life as a whole') and 一生 ('a whole lifetime').

noun
careerlife period (a significant phase of one's life, e.g. college or professional career)

Examples

  • 生涯。
    Tā gāng gāng kāi shǐ le zì jǐ de zuò jiā shēng yá.
    She has just started her career as a writer.
  • ，。
    Huí gù dà xué shēng yá, tā gǎn dào hěn chōng shí.
    Looking back on his college years, he feels very fulfilled.
  • 生涯。
    Zhè shì tā huì huà shēng yá de diān fēng shí qī.
    This was the peak period of his painting career.

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.

生shēnglife
涯yáedge

“生” (life) and “涯” (edge) suggest the span or limits of a life or career.

Characters in this word

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

生 shows 屮 (a bud) above 一 (the ground), drawing a sprout coming up from the earth.

Open 生 →

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
氵Written in full as水shuǐwater
Sound part声符shēngfú
厓
厓yá涯yá
Same sound today

涯 puts 氵 (water) beside 厓 (cliff; to limit), showing a cliff by the water and giving the sense of a shore or edge.

Open 涯 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 7-9Professions & Jobs5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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