Chinese word

员

Pronunciation

Pinyinyuán

Meaning

  • nounemployee

Example

公司里的每个职员都很努力。gōng sī lǐ de měi gè zhí yuán dōu hěn nǔ lì

Every employee in the company works hard.

Illustration for 员 (employee)

More examples

饭店里的服务员很友好。fàn diàn lǐ de fú wù yuán hěn yóu hǎo

The server at the restaurant is very friendly.

Core concept

A person counted as part of the workplace, group, or role named with the word.

Common phrases

  • 职员zhí yuán

    employee

  • 服务员fú wù yuán

    server

  • 会员huì yuán

    member

Similar words

员工yuán gōng: A worker employed by a company, store, or other place of business.
人员rén yuán: People working for or present at an organization, workplace, or other site.
成员chéng yuán: A person who belongs to and takes part in a team, group, or organization.

Definition in Chinese

表示某个团体、机构或职位中的个体或成员的词素，通常附在表示单位或职务的字后，构成表示人员的名词。biǎo shì mǒu gè tuán tǐ jī gòu huò zhí wèi zhōng de gè tǐ huò chéng yuán de cí sù tōng cháng fù zài biǎo shì dān wèi huò zhí wù de zì hòu gòu chéng biǎo shì rén yuán de míng cí

Word origin

The character 员 (yuán, "member") developed as a people marker, so compounds place it after a group or job label to name someone connected with it.

Usage tips

  • English often puts the person word first, but Chinese frequently places the workplace or role before 员 (yuán, "member"), making word order an important clue to meaning.

Other meanings

  • staffnoun
  • membernoun
  • team membernoun

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word