课业 (kè yè) — schoolwork; academic assignments

Definition

noun
schoolworkacademic assignments

Examples

  • 课业，。
    Tā de kè yè hěn duō, měi tiān dōu yào xiě hěn jiǔ.
    His schoolwork is heavy; he has to write for a long time every day.
  • 课业，。
    Lǎo shī bù zhì de kè yè hěn nán, wǒ men xū yào yì qǐ wán chéng.
    The homework assigned by the teacher is very difficult; we need to finish it together.
  • 课业。
    Zhè ge xué qī kè yè tè bié fán máng.
    This semester's schoolwork is especially busy.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéSide by side

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

课kèlesson
业yèassignment

课 means lessons and 业 means assignments, together giving schoolwork.

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 課; 课 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
言言yánto say
Sound part声符shēngfú
果
果guǒ課kè
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 課 pairs 言 (to say) with 果 as a sound part; the simplified 课 is a shorthand and its right side is not a sound part.

Open 课 →

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 →

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