留职 (liú zhí) — to retain one's official position while tempora… | tongtong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

A workplace term: keep your official post on paper while away on leave, study, or another assignment. 停薪 (salary suspended) often pairs with it.

verb

to retain one's official position while temporarily absent or assigned elsewhere

Examples

留职。
Tā shēn qǐng le liú zhí qù guó wài dú bó shì.
He applied to retain his position while going abroad for a PhD.
留职。
Gōng sī tóng yì tā liú zhí dàn tíng xīn yì nián.
The company agreed to let her retain her position but suspend her salary for one year.
留职。
Hěn duō jiào shī xuǎn zé liú zhí qù nóng cūn zhī jiào.
Many teachers choose to retain their positions while teaching in rural areas.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

职zhíposition

留 means retain and 职 means position, naming keeping one's post.

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

田田tiánfield

Sound part声符shēngfú

卯

卯mǎo留liú

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

留 combines 田 (field) with 卯, which gives the sound.

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 職; 职 is its simplified writing.

耳戠職

Meaning part形符xíngfú

耳耳ěrear

Sound part声符shēngfú

戠

戠zhí職zhí

Same sound today

The traditional form 職 pairs 耳 (ear) with 戠, which gives its sound; the simplified 职 is a shorthand, so its parts are not the historical parts.

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