业

yè

Pinyin
yè
Pinyin (Plain)
ye
Tone
4
Strokes
5
Radical
一
Readings
yèyeTone: 4surname YeOrder: 0Primary
Stroke Order Code
Speed
Stroke Order Data
["M 429 100 Q 420 511 436 595 Q 440 622 425 637 Q 400 659 368 670 Q 352 677 341 670 Q 332 663 339 646 Q 370 573 380 496 Q 386 417 383 96 C 383 66 430 70 429 100 Z", "M 603 112 Q 615 346 622 559 Q 628 611 633 647 Q 642 678 647 701 Q 651 713 628 730 Q 589 751 563 755 Q 545 759 536 749 Q 527 742 537 725 Q 571 670 571 634 Q 578 390 558 108 C 556 78 601 82 603 112 Z", "M 210 369 Q 241 336 273 297 Q 286 281 302 280 Q 314 280 321 293 Q 328 308 322 340 Q 315 379 211 419 Q 195 425 188 423 Q 182 419 182 406 Q 185 394 210 369 Z", "M 769 478 Q 735 423 667 336 Q 660 327 667 319 Q 677 318 686 323 Q 804 419 862 455 Q 884 462 879 476 Q 870 495 846 518 Q 821 540 792 541 Q 773 540 776 515 Q 780 499 769 478 Z", "M 517 57 Q 569 58 620 62 Q 752 72 894 52 Q 919 48 926 57 Q 935 72 922 85 Q 846 161 792 135 Q 750 129 603 112 L 558 108 Q 515 107 486 103 Q 455 102 429 100 L 383 96 Q 334 95 303 90 Q 236 81 134 84 Q 119 85 117 72 Q 116 59 136 43 Q 184 7 220 19 Q 278 34 407 48 Q 458 54 517 57 Z"]
Meaning
The Chinese character “业” (simplified; traditional: 業) mainly means “work, occupation, or profession” and can also mean “industry” (as in business fields like 工业 “industry,” 教育业 “education sector”). In extended uses, it can refer to one’s “undertaking, achievement, or academic studies,” as in 学业 “studies/schoolwork.”
Metadata
Locale: en
Cached At: 5/9/2026, 2:28:50 AM

Usage

The character **业 (業)** is very common in modern Chinese and usually relates to **work, occupation, study, or industry**. Learners first see it in words about **school and learning**, such as 作业 *zuòyè* (“homework, assignment”) and 学业 *xuéyè* (“studies, academic work”). It also appears in 事业 *shìyè* (“career, cause”) and 毕业 *bìyè* (“to graduate”), where it carries the sense of one’s work, course of study, or life’s undertaking. In these contexts, 业 often suggests something you are **engaged in and responsible for** over a period of time. Another common group of uses is in **business and industry**. For example, 工业 *gōngyè* (“industry”), 教育业 *jiàoyùyè* (“education industry”), 服务业 *fúwùyè* (“service sector”), and 房地产业 *fángdìchǎn yè* (“real estate industry”). When used as a standalone noun in modern Mandarin, 业 usually appears in written or formal contexts, often in combinations rather than by itself. Learners can think of 业 as a versatile morpheme tied to **professional fields, sectors of the economy, and long-term work or study efforts**.

Handwriting Notes

In handwriting, **业** is a compact, mostly horizontal character that often looks quite different from some printed fonts. On paper it usually appears as three short, slightly slanted horizontal lines stacked fairly close together, with a small central vertical or slanting stroke that may or may not clearly connect the layers, plus a short central tick near the bottom. In many people’s everyday writing, the lines are simplified or merged so the character can resemble a quick “three-bar” shape with a tiny hook or dot in the middle, sometimes looking almost like a compressed ladder or a stylized “E” shape rather than the neatly separated strokes you see in standard typefaces. Handwritten forms can vary in how clearly each stroke is separated, in the slant of the horizontals, and in where the short central ticks attach (or if they are reduced to slight bends in the lines instead of distinct strokes). Some writers keep it quite square and balanced; others write it more narrow and flowing, especially when writing quickly. Because of these variations, **AI handwriting recognition systems** (such as those in phone input methods and digital pens) are trained to recognize a range of handwritten shapes for **业**, taking into account different stroke joins, proportions, and levels of simplification so that the character can be correctly identified even when written casually.

Description

业 (simplified form of 業) is a common Chinese character meaning “profession,” “business,” “industry,” or “occupation,” and more generally “undertaking” or “deed.” It often appears in words like 工业 (industry), 职业 (profession), and 学业 (studies; academic work).

Common Words

  • 事业shìyècareer; undertaking; cause
  • 工业gōngyèindustry; industrial sector
  • 农业nóngyèagriculture
  • 商业shāngyècommerce; business; trade
  • 毕业bìyèto graduate; graduation
  • 创业chuàngyèto start a business; to start an enterprise
  • 作业zuòyèhomework; assignment; operation (in work context)
  • 就业jiùyèto obtain employment; employment
  • 失业shīyèto lose one’s job; unemployment
  • 职业zhíyèprofession; occupation; vocational
  • 副业fùyèsideline; side job
  • 家业jiāyèfamily business; family property/enterprise
  • 学业xuéyèstudies; schoolwork; academic pursuit
  • 事业心shìyèxīncareer ambition; dedication to one’s work
  • 农产品加工业nóngchǎnpǐn jiāgōng yèagricultural products processing industry
Try writing this character