职 (zhí) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

职

zhí[zhi2]Tone 2

office

HSK 3

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職

Guru Deep Dive

English · office

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:12

Writing Balance Rule: The left ear component (耳) should be slightly narrower to leave ample room for the more complex right component (戠), keeping the overall character balanced on the centerline.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 職 uses 戠 on the right, which was standardized into 职 in simplified Chinese.

1. Meaning

duty, office, post

professionjobfunction

NounNeutralBound morpheme#work#society#responsibility

Sample Usage

工作职责
gōngzuò zhízé
job responsibilities
职业
zhíyè
occupation, profession

2. Sound

/[ʈʂʐ̩³⁵]/Tone: 35

职

zhízhi2

´(35)

=zhí

Initial Consonant

Type: Unaspirated Retroflex

Sounds like: j/dr retroflex sound

UnaspiratedRetroflex

Airflow Tactile Test: No burst of air. Tongue curled up. Tissue stays still.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Tongue tip curled back near hard palate

Final Rhyme

i (-i*)

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: buzzing i sound after retroflex consonants

Note: Written as 'i (-i*)', pronounced as rounded 'i' [y].

Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'zh-' (jr) with final '-i' (rr/zz).

Common Learner Trap: Do NOT pronounce '-i' as 'ee' after zh-! Keep your tongue in the consonant position and buzz 'rr/zz'.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises like a questioning English sentence (e.g. 'Really?')

👂

Listening trap: Mistaking the retroflex initial 'zh-' for a dental affricate 'z-' or alveolar 'j-'.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand gesture starting from mid-chest and moving upward, like asking a question with 'What?'

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 12 strokes

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 職 uses 戠 on the right, which was standardized into 职 in simplified Chinese.

4. Components

Radical 耳 · ear radical (ear)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 耳 (denotes listening to instructions or orders associated with one's duty)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 戠 (original sound: zhi)

An ear (耳) listening to commands, combined with the phonetic element 戠, representing the duties assigned to a person at their official post.

耳 ear, hearing orders
戠 phonetic and meaning contributor for order/duty

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

10· Phonetic Root: 只 (zhǐ)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally combined 'ear' (耳) and 戠 (to gather/record), indicating an official listening to reports or taking orders at court.

Semantic Evolution: Expanded from official government office and duties to general professional jobs and responsibilities in modern times.

Ancient officials had to listen closely to imperial decrees, hence the ear component in 職.

6. Sinosphere

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: ショク

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

직

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

At your office JOB (职), you use your EAR (耳) to listen to your boss's orders and fulfill your DUTY.

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

织

zhīto weaveReplaces the ear radical with the silk radical (纟) for weaving fabric.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

织(zhī)

职 has the ear (耳) component for office/duty; 织 has the silk (纟) component for weaving.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

每个员工都有自己的工作[___]。

Clue: zhí zé

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the right-hand phonetic part with unrelated characters or misremembering the stroke order of the left ear radical.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 职 mean and how is it pronounced?

Production: How do you write the character for 'office/duty' (zhí)?

职zhíoffice

Speed:

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