职务 (zhí wù) — official position; post; duties | TongTong Chinese Dictionary

Definition

An official post or the duties attached to it, often used for formal or organizational roles. Compare 职责 (the responsibilities of a role) and 职位 (the job title or rank itself).

noun

official positionpostduties

Measure word · 个

Easily confused

植物zhí wùsound-alikeplant; vegetation

Examples

职务。
Tā de zhí wù shì fù zé zhěng gè bù mén de yùn yíng.
His duties are to oversee the entire department's operations.
，职务。
Tā yīn wèi biǎo xiàn yōu yì, bèi tí shēng dào le yí gè gèng gāo de zhí wù.
He was promoted to a higher position due to his excellent performance.
职务。
Měi gè yuán gōng dōu yīng gāi rèn zhēn lǚ xíng zì jǐ de zhí wù.
Every employee should diligently fulfill their duties.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

务wùaffair

职 and 务 both point to official duties or tasks, forming a near-synonymous pair.

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.

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.

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 務; 务 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú

力力lìstrength

Sound part声符shēngfú

敄

敄wù務wù

Same sound today

In the traditional form 務, 力 shows the sense of strength or effort, while 敄 gives the sound. The simplified 务 is a later shorthand.

Appears in

HSK 3.0 Level 6 HSK 2.0 Level 6 Professions & Jobs

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