How to say “major” in Chinese

专业

zhuānyè

major; professional

noun · HSK 4 · topic “University and goals”

“Major” in Chinese is 专业, zhuān yè: the meaning, a recording of how it sounds, the characters stroke by stroke and examples.

How to pronounce it

专业 is read zhuān yè: 2 syllables. The tone is part of the word: with another melody you get another word, or just a jumble of sounds.

zhuān — 1st tonehigh and level, like a long note

yè — 4th tonesharply falling, like “Stop!”

How to write it

专

zhuān — special, specialized

It hints at the sound of 转 zhuǎn and 传 chuán.

业

yè — business, occupation

Strokes go in order: top to bottom and left to right, horizontal before vertical. Tap a character to open its page, with the strokes shown large and the words it appears in. To train your hand, print a handwriting sheet for “专业”.

Examples

Sentences from the course lessons with 专业. Tap the sound icon to listen.

我打算报考历史专业wǒdǎsuànbàokǎolìshǐzhuānyèI'm planning to apply for a history major.
你学的是什么专业？nǐxuédeshìshénmezhuānyèWhat's your major?
我喜欢数学，可是不知道选什么专业。wǒxǐhuanshùxué,kěshìbùzhīdàoxuǎnshénmezhuānyèI like math, but I don't know what major to choose.
我不是专业的只是业余爱好wǒbúshìzhuānyède,zhǐshìyèyúàihàoI'm not a professional — it's just a hobby.
你为什么选择这个专业？nǐwèishénmexuǎnzézhègezhuānyèWhy did you choose this major?
我想找跟专业相关的工作wǒxiǎngzhǎogēnzhuānyèxiāngguāndegōngzuòI want to find a job in my field.

More words from the lesson “The gaokao and your major”

Look up another word in the Chinese–English dictionary: in English, in pinyin or in characters.

Frequently asked questions

How do you say “major” in Chinese?

“Major” in Chinese is 专业, pinyin zhuānyè.

What does 专业 mean?

专业 (zhuānyè) means “major; professional”.

How do you write 专业?

专业 is 2 characters: 专 (zhuān) — special, specialized; 业 (yè) — business, occupation. The stroke order of each one is shown step by step on this page.

How do you pronounce 专业?

专业 is read zhuānyè. Tones: zhuān — first tone, yè — fourth tone. The page has a native speaker recording.

“major” in the lesson “The gaokao and your major”

This word is from the topic “University and goals” of HSK 4. In the lesson you hear it in a dialogue, build a sentence with it and say it out loud. Start for free, no sign-up needed.

Start for free