半工半读

半工半讀

bàngōngbàndú

phrase #67,100

Meanings

1 work-study program
2 to half-work and half-study
3 to support one's studies by working part-time

Characters

Examples

HSK 2

很多留学生都过着半工半读的生活。

Hěnduō liúxuéshēng dōu guò zhe bàngōngbàndú de shēnghuó.

Many overseas students live a half-work, half-study life.

HSK 7-9

他通过半工半读完成了大学学业。

Tā tōngguò bàngōngbàndú wánchéng le dàxué xuéyè.

He finished his university studies through a work-study program.

Tips

history

半工半读 became a national policy slogan in 1958 under 刘少奇, who promoted a 'two-track' education system blending labor and study. The phrase predates that - it described early 20th-century overseas Chinese students - and survives today as a normal description of working students.

memory

Mirror structure: 半 + 工 + 半 + 读 → 'half work, half read'. The two 半s make the symmetry obvious.

Stroke Order

半 bàn

工 gōng

读 dú