The Many Paths of Every Trade

A person walks down a busy street, passing through a multitude of different trades and professions. This movement through the various layers of society is captured in the Chinese phrase 各行各業. The expression refers to all walks of life, specifically regarding every trade, profession, or class of society.

The phrase is constructed from several distinct characters. The character 各 serves as a determiner meaning each or every. It is composed of two parts: the component 夂, which means to approach from behind, and the component 口, which refers to the mouth, specifically the lips and the internal mouth cavity.

Movement is central to the phrase through the character 行, meaning to walk. This character is formed by combining the component 彳, meaning to walk slowly, with the component 亍, meaning to stop or to stand still.

Finally, the phrase incorporates the character 業, which denotes a profession, business, or trade. This character is built from the component 大, meaning big or large, and the component 丵, which represents grass that grows in clusters or thickly growing grass.

Together, these elements combine to describe the wide variety of different industries and occupations that exist within a society.

Explore the full etymology graph of 各行各業 on etymfun.com.

Based on Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the sources listed on etymfun.com; written by a local model and fact-checked statement by statement against them. Illustration generated locally.

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