裁员 (cáiyuán) · to cut staff

裁员 (cáiyuán) means “to cut staff; to lay off employees”. It is written with 2 characters: 裁 (to trim) + 员 (member). It is an old HSK 6 word (HSK 2.0).

How 裁员 is built

The characters

裁 cái · to trim

What 裁 is made of

十 — ten
- 一 — horizontal stroke
- 丨 — vertical stroke
戈gē — spear
衣yī — cloth
- 亠tóu — lid
  - 丶 — dot
  - 一 — horizontal stroke

员 yuán · member

What 员 is made of

口kǒu — mouth
- 冂 — frame
  - 丨 — vertical stroke
- 一 — horizontal stroke
贝bèi — sea shell
- 冂 — frame
  - 丨 — vertical stroke
- 人rén — person

Origin hint: money (from the Make Me a Hanzi dataset; treat as a memory aid where history is uncertain)

Example sentences

公司今年要裁员。Gōngsī jīnnián yào cáiyuán.The company is cutting staff this year.

因为经济不好，很多工厂裁员了。Yīnwèi jīngjì bùhǎo, hěnduō gōngchǎng cáiyuán le.Many factories laid off workers because of the poor economy.

Questions about 裁员

What does 裁员 mean?

裁员 (cáiyuán) means “to cut staff; to lay off employees”.

How do you pronounce 裁员?

裁员 is pronounced cáiyuán.

Which HSK level is 裁员?

裁员 is in Old HSK 6.

Related words

Learn 裁员 with its group

It is part of Old HSK 6 · Group 19: a short group with quick checks and spaced repeats.

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