业 (yè) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

业

yè[ye4]Tone 4

Industry, profession, business, karma

HSK 2

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業

Guru Deep Dive

English · Industry, profession, business, karma

Cached lesson

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Topology:Single character

Strokes:5

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the vertical strokes centered and balanced. The bottom horizontal line should be wide and stable to anchor the entire character.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 業 represents an ancient ornate wooden rack for hanging bells or musical instruments. The modern simplified form 业 streamlines the upper ornamental strokes into simpler horizontal and dot strokes while retaining the core structural outline.

1. Meaning

industry, business, occupation

studiespropertykarma (Buddhism)already

Noun / AffixNeutral#business#work#education#philosophy

Sample Usage

毕业
bì yè
to graduate
企业
qǐ yè
enterprise, business

2. Sound

/[jɛ˥˩]/Tone: 51

业

yèye4

`(51)

=yè

Initial Consonant

Type: Palatal Glide (Zero Initial)

Sounds like: y

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Acts as a bridge into 'i' or 'ü' vowel sounds.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Raise middle of tongue toward hard palate, gliding effortlessly into vowel.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: rhymes with the 'ye' in 'yet'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'uh'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and plunges instantly, matching an emphatic command or angry sigh in English.

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with rising tone (yé) or neutral tone (ye). Make sure the pitch drops sharply from top to bottom.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Tone 4 is a sharp drop from high to low, like nodding firmly while saying 'No!'

3. Writing

Topology: Single character · Strokes: 5 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: Keep the vertical strokes centered and balanced. The bottom horizontal line should be wide and stable to anchor the entire character.

4. Components

Radical 木 · Wood Radical (wood, tree, construction frame)

Originally depicted a jagged wooden stand or rack used in ancient temples to hang ritual bells or stone chimes.

业 Represents the wooden rack structure with hanging ornaments

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

3· Phonetic Root: 业 (yè)

5. History

Liushu category: Pictogram (象形)

Origin: In Oracle Bone and Bronze scripts, 业 was a picture of a serrated wooden board or rack used in ancient musical instruments or bell frames. Over time, its meaning shifted abstractly to affairs, work, and enterprise.

Semantic Evolution: From a physical wooden rack for bells to the 'undertakings' or 'tasks' supported by that framework, and eventually to occupation, business, and karma.

In Buddhism, 业 translates the Sanskrit word 'karma', representing moral deeds and their inevitable consequences.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ギョウ (gyō), ゴウ (gō) / Kun: waza

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

업

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

Imagine a heavy wooden rack (木) in an ancient workshop where workers craft business goods, representing your daily occupation and industry (业).

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

亚(yà)

亞/亚 has a cross shape with an open bottom frame, meaning Asia or second, whereas 业 has multiple horizontal strokes representing the wooden rack.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

他今年大学毕___了。

Clue: yè

Common Learner Pitfall

Forgetting that 业 starts directly with the vowel 'ye' without any initial consonant, and misapplying Tone 3 instead of the sharp Tone 4.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 业 mean when seen in compound words like 企业 (qǐyè) or 毕业 (bìyè)?

Production: How do you write the 5-stroke character for 'industry, business, or profession' with Pinyin yè?

业yèIndustry, profession, business, karma

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