務
affair; business; matter; to be engaged in; to attend to; by all means
Closest English meanings
to attend to·business·duty
The Calligrapher — Zhào Jí 赵佶
Song emperor who created the slender, jewel-like 'Slender Gold' script.
Song calligrapher (1082–1135), master of regular script/cursive script — Emperor Huizong of Song, artist on the throne and inventor of the slender 'Slender Gold' script. Song dynasty
Cultural Story
The Analects advises “君子務本” — the gentleman attends to the root, not the show. 務 is the steady application: 事務 are the affairs that must be met, 任務 the assigned mission. Under the Tang the 市舺使 ran foreign trade at Guangzhou; the word has always meant the work that will not wait.
Common words & phrases
- 服務 service · to serve
- 任務 task · mission
- 務必 must · be sure to
- 事務 affairs · business
Read the story behind the character
A phone app pings 務必 before a meeting; 服務 desks fill every train station, and 服務区 the rest stops on the highway. A soldier receives a 任務 at dawn, and an HR system tags 事務 as done or overdue. The character now runs from a teenager's chore chart to a nation's five-year plan.
Own this character
Purchase delivers the original SVG of this glyph, brushed by Zhào Jí 赵佶, ready to place on skin, paper, or screen.