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."

"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 / cours

师 master / specialist / skilled person

农民

nóngmín

"people of agriculture"

farmer

农 Agriculture/farming

民 common people/masses

Modifier-Head (偏正) 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