照片

zhàopiàn

photo

照 "to shine," "illuminate," or "take a picture"

片 a "flat piece," "slice," or "sheet."

literally “an illuminated/snapshot piece”

他 / 她

tā / tā

男 / 女

nán / nǚ

儿子 / 女儿

Érzǐ/ nǚ'ér

that is

那 that (refers to something far from the speaker)

是 is / to be

这 / 那

zhè / nà

你和我

nǐ hé wǒ

工作

gōngzuò

work, job

工 "labor," "skill," or "craft"

作 "to make," "to do," or "to create."

Together, 工作 combines the concept of labor (工) with the act of doing (作), forming a term that covers both the process and purpose of work.

 律师

lǜshī

lawyer

律 "laws," "rules," or "regulations"

师 "master," "teacher," or "expert"

英文

yīngwén

English language/writing

英 "hero," "outstanding," or "flower"

In 英文, it abbreviates 英格兰 (Yīnggélán)

文 "language," "writing," or "culture"

英语

yīngyǔ

spoken English

语 "speech" instead of 文,

emphasizing spoken English

几口人

jǐ kǒu rén

“How many mouths (of) people?”

how many people (are in a family or household)?

几 "how many" (used for small, indefinite numbers)

口 "mouth," but here it means "person" (as a counting

     unit for family members)

人 "person / people"

大学生

dàxuéshēng

college/university student

大 "big," "great," or "adult"

大学 "university"

学生 "student

大学

dàxué

"big + learning"

university

大 "big," "great," or "adult"

学 "to learn," "study," or "academia."

医生

Yīshēng

"medicine-person"

doctor

医 to heal, to treat, or medicine

生 life, birth, to be born, or person who does

    something

商人

shāngrén

merchant; businessperson

商 commerce, trade, business

人 person

工人

gōngrén

军人

jūnrén

soldier

军 army, military, troops; originally depicted a chariot with weapons, representing organized military force

教授

Jiàoshòu

professor

教 "to teach" or "instruction"

授 "to give," "to confer," or "to hand down"

工程师

gōngchéngshī

engineer

工 work / labor / engineering

程 process / journey / program / course

师 master / specialist / skilled person

农民

nóngmín

"people of agriculture"

farmer

农 Agriculture/farming

民 common people/masses

Modifier-Head structure: 农 modifies 民

护士

hùshì

 "care professional"

nurse

护 "to protect," "to guard," or "to care for"

士 "scholar" or "gentleman" (in ancient China)

小学

xiǎoxué

中学

zhōngxué

家庭

jiātíng

family

家  "home," "house," or "family"

庭  "courtyard," "hall," or open space

经理

jīnglǐ

manager

经  to manage, to pass through, or classic/text

理  to arrange, to reason, to handle

to shine, illuminate

take a picture

agriculture, farming

farmer

to manage

to pass through

to arrange

reason, logic

middle

center

to heal, to treat

medicine

language

writing

culture

hero

outstanding

flower

army

military

process

journey

program, course

master

specialist

to present

to submit

to make

to do

to create

laws

rules

regulations

commerce

trade

business

home

house

family

courtyard

hall

open space

to teach

instruction

to give

to confer

to hand down

to protect

to guard

to care for

scholar

gentleman

warrior