行业 meaning in English

hángyè

trade; profession; industry; business

HSK 4nounTraditional 行業11 strokes

Meaning of 行业

Definitions from CC-CEDICT.

hángyè
  1. trade; profession; industry; business

How to use 行业

行业 refers to a whole industry or line of business, not a single company. It often follows the field it describes, as in 服务行业 (fúwù hángyè, service industry) or 旅游行业 (lǚyóu hángyè, tourism industry). Example: 他在金融行业工作。(Tā zài jīnróng hángyè gōngzuò.) He works in the finance industry.

行 (háng) can mean a row or line of business, and 业 (yè) means work or trade, as in 职业 (zhíyè). Picture rows of shops on a street, each row a different line of work: that is a 行业.

Common mistake: Learners often read 行 here as xíng, the pronunciation in 旅行 (lǚxíng) and 行动 (xíngdòng). In 行业 it is háng, the same as in 银行 (yínháng). Also avoid using 行业 for your personal job title. Use 职业 (zhíyè) for an individual's occupation.

行业 in example sentences

Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.

这zhè是shì很hěn有yǒu前qián景jǐng的de行háng业yè。
This is a very promising industry.
您nín在zài英yīng国guó从cóng事shì中zhōng医yī行háng业yè多duō长zhǎng时shí间jiān了le?
How long have you been practising Chinese medicine in the UK?
这zhè家jiā公gōng司sī在zài石shí油yóu行háng业yè排pái名míng第dì二èr。
This firm ranks second in the oil trade.
有yǒu可kě能néng将jiāng电diàn脑nǎo工gōng作zuò扩kuò展zhǎn到dào银yín行háng业yè务wù, 会kuài计jì业yè务wù等děng等děng。
It's possible to branch out from computing to jobs in banking, accountancy and so on.

Stroke order for each character

Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.

行 xíng · to walk · 6 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6

业 yè · line of business · 5 strokes

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5

Related words

Words that share a character with 行业.

不行bùxíngwon't do; be out of the question
进行jìnxíng(of a process etc) to proceed; to be in progress; to be underway; (of people) to carry out
行动xíngdòngoperation; action
行为xíngwéiaction; conduct; behavior; activity
银行yínhángbank
旅行lǚxíngto travel; journey; trip
举行jǔxíngto hold (a meeting, ceremony etc)
流行liúxíng(of a contagious disease etc) to spread; to propagate; (of a style of clothing, song etc)
自行车zìxíngchēbicycle; bike
作业zuòyèschool assignment; homework
行人xíngrénpedestrian; traveler on foot
银行卡yínhángkǎbank card

Questions about 行业

What does 行业 mean?

行业 (hángyè) means "trade; profession; industry; business" and is used as a noun.

How do you write 行业?

行业 is made of 2 characters: 行 (6 strokes), 业 (5 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.

Is 行业 an HSK word?

Yes. 行业 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.

How is 行业 written in traditional Chinese?

In traditional characters, 行业 is written 行業.

What is the difference between 行业 and 产业?

行业 is the everyday word for any line of business or trade, including services like restaurants or education. 产业 (chǎnyè) sounds more economic and formal. It is often used for large sectors in policy or economics contexts, such as 文化产业 (cultural industry).

How do I ask someone what industry they work in?

You can say 你在哪个行业工作?(Nǐ zài nǎge hángyè gōngzuò?) Which industry do you work in? A shorter casual version is 你做哪一行?(Nǐ zuò nǎ yì háng?), where 行 alone means a line of work.