职业 (zhíyè) · job

职业 (zhíyè) means “job; profession; professional”. It is written with 2 characters: 职 (duty) + 业 (business). It is an HSK 4 word in the current exam syllabus (2025).

How 职业 is built

The characters

职 zhí · duty

What 职 is made of

耳ěr — ear
- 二 — two strokes
  - 一 — horizontal stroke
  - 一 — horizontal stroke
只zhī — only
- 口kǒu — mouth
  - 冂 — frame
  - 一 — horizontal stroke
- 八bā — eight

Origin hint: 耳 gives the meaning, 只 gives the sound. (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

业 yè · business

What 业 is made of

一 — horizontal stroke

Example sentences

你的职业是什么？Nǐ de zhíyè shì shénme?What is your occupation?

他是一名职业足球运动员。Tā shì yī míng zhíyè zúqiú yùndòngyuán.He is a professional football player.

Questions about 职业

What does 职业 mean?

职业 (zhíyè) means “job; profession; professional”.

How do you pronounce 职业?

职业 is pronounced zhíyè.

Which HSK level is 职业?

职业 is in HSK 4 (exam 2025) and HSK 3 (2021) and Old HSK 4.

Related words

Learn 职业 with its group

It is part of HSK 3 (2021) · Group 30: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

Open the group