职业 (zhí yè) means 'occupation' or 'profession' — the type of paid work someone regularly does. It combines two characters: 职 (zhí), meaning 'duty', 'post', or 'position', and 业 (yè), meaning 'work', 'business', or 'field of endeavor'. Together, they convey a formal, socially recognized role involving specialized skills or responsibilities. Unlike casual terms like 工作 (gōng zuò, 'job' or 'work'), 职业 emphasizes long-term identity, training, and social function — e.g., doctor, teacher, engineer.

This word is commonly used in contexts like career planning, job interviews, official forms, and education. It often appears with classifiers like 一种 (yī zhǒng, 'a kind of') or in phrases such as 职业选择 (zhí yè xuǎn zé, 'career choice') and 职业发展 (zhí yè fā zhǎn, 'professional development'). While it can refer to any occupation, it carries a slightly more formal or institutional tone than everyday alternatives.