专业 (zhuānyè)

专业 refers to a specific field of study or work, and can describe something as professional or specialized in nature.

Meanings

[noun] a field of study, major, or profession
[adjective] professional, specialized, or expert-level

Example Sentences

他学的专业是计算机科学。 Tā xué de zhuānyè shì jìsuànjī kēxué. His major is computer science.

我们需要专业的意见来解决这个问题。 Wǒmen xūyào zhuānyè de yìjiàn lái jiějué zhège wèntí. We need professional advice to solve this problem.

她的专业技能让公司非常满意。 Tā de zhuānyè jìnéng ràng gōngsī fēicháng mǎnyì. Her professional skills made the company very satisfied.

这项工作需要非常专业的知识。 Zhè xiàng gōngzuò xūyào fēicháng zhuānyè de zhīshi. This job requires very specialized knowledge.

Collocations

Collocation	Meaning
专业知识	specialized knowledge
专业技能	professional skills
专业人士	professional person
专业课程	specialized courses

Usage Notes

专业 is highly versatile in Chinese: as a noun, it refers to one's academic major or area of specialization; as an adjective, it means professional or skilled. University students frequently say 我的专业是... (my major is...). At B1 level, understanding both uses is important.

Memory Hook

专 means "focused on one thing" and 业 means "profession," so 专业 is literally "focused on one profession," a true specialist.