zhí yè
profession; career
Practice writing with stroke order guidance, audio pronunciation, and interactive exercises in our mobile app.
Step-by-step stroke order animations
Native speaker audio pronunciation
Interactive writing recognition
我的职业是老师。
Wǒ de zhíyè shì lǎoshī.
My profession is a teacher.
你的理想职业是什么？
nǐ de lǐ xiǎnɡ zhí yè shì shén me ？
What is your ideal career?
她的职业是工程师。
tā de zhí yè shì ɡōnɡ chénɡ shī .
Her career is an engineer.
工作 (gōngzuò)
work
职业生涯 (zhíyè shēngyá)
career
业余 (yèyú)
amateur
失业 (shīyè)
unemployment
The Chinese word 职业 (zhíyè) for "occupation" or "profession" is composed of two characters: 职 (zhí) and 业 (yè). The character 职 originally meant "to serve" or "to hold an office", and it is often used in compound words related to work or duty. The character 业 originally meant "to cultivate" or "to engage in an activity", and it is often used in compound words related to business or trade. When combined, the two characters 职 and 业 form the word 职业, which refers to a specific occupation or profession that a person engages in for a living. The word 职业 can be used in a variety of contexts, such as 职业选择 (zhíyè xuǎnzé, career choice), 职业规划 (zhíyè guīhuà, career planning), and 职业发展 (zhíyè fāzhǎn, career development).
