Chinese word

作业

Pronunciation

Pinyinzuò yè

Meaning

  • nounhomework

Example

我还有一份作业没做。wǒ hái yǒu yí fèn zuò yè méi zuò

I still have one homework assignment to do.

Illustration for 作业 (homework)

More examples

我每天七点开始做作业。wǒ měi tiān qī diǎn kāi shǐ zuò zuò yè

I start doing my homework at seven every day.

Core concept

A piece of work set for someone to do, especially practice work for school.

Common phrases

  • 做作业zuò zuò yè

    do homework

  • 做完作业zuò wán zuò yè

    finish homework

Similar words

功课gōng kè: School study and assigned tasks used to learn and review lessons.
练习liàn xí: Exercises or problems used repeatedly to develop a skill or knowledge.
任务rèn wù: Work that must be done to achieve a set goal.
工作gōng zuò: Paid work done as a job or profession.

Definition in Chinese

老师布置给学生用来练习、巩固知识并要求在课外完成的任务。lǎo shī bù zhì gěi xué shēng yòng lái liàn xí gǒng gù zhī shí bìng yāo qiú zài kè wài wán chéng de rèn wù

Word origin

作业 (zuòyè, "homework") combines 作 (zuò, "do") and 业 (yè, "work or study"), giving the sense of work that needs to be done.

Usage tips

  • English says do homework without an article but do an assignment with an article, making this word a useful reminder that the two natural English phrases are built differently.

Other meanings

  • worknoun
  • assignmentnoun

Word lists with this word