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降职 (jiàng zhí) — to demote, to lower (someone's) position

Definition

降职 (jiàngzhí) means to demote someone — lower their official rank or position, the opposite of 升职. Used in workplaces and formal contexts, often with the passive 被.

verb
to demoteto lower (someone's) position

Examples

  • 降职。
    Tā yīn wèi biǎo xiàn bù hǎo bèi jiàng zhí le.
    He was demoted because of poor performance.
  • 。
    Gōng sī jiàng le tā de zhí.
    The company demoted him.
  • 降职。
    Zhè cì jiàng zhí ràng tā hěn shī wàng.
    This demotion made him very disappointed.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
动宾dòngbīnVerb + object

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

降jiànglower
职zhíposition

降 gives 'lower' and 职 gives 'position', so to lower someone's position.

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
阝Written in full as阜fùhill, wall
Sound part声符shēngfú
夅
夅jiàng降xiáng
Same sound today

降 pairs 阝 (a hill or wall, written in full as 阜) with 夅, a sound part meaning 'to descend'; together they picture descending a hill.

Open 降 →

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.

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.

Open 职 →
Appears in
Workplace & Office

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