产业
chǎnyè · HSK 5
industry
🏭 产 (produce) + 业 (business) = industry; what a business produces
产 means to produce or give birth to; 业 means trade or profession. Together they name the productive sector — manufacturing, agriculture, any domain of economic output. Also covers family estate, since that was the productive holding of old.
产 — 产 = 立 (stand) + 厂 (cliff/factory)
Originally written 產, depicting birth or production, with 生 (to be born/grow) as the semantic element and 彥 reduced as phonetic. The simplified form 产 keeps the top portion only. Its core meaning shifted from 'giving birth' to broader senses of 'produce, output, property.'
业 — top 业 (originally a notched board)
Originally a pictograph of a notched wooden board hung in ancient classrooms or temples to support bells and chimes. The notches inspired meanings of 'work' and 'profession,' as such boards were tools of trade and study. Today it means business, occupation, or undertaking.