業

The glyph generally denotes an "enterprise"—the bridge between the process of acting and the result achieved. Its meaning typically falls into these categories:

• Professional/Functional: A vocation, trade, or specific line of business; in administrative or legal contexts, one's place in the social order.
• Achievement and Legacy: The sum total of a life’s work; an accomplishment, a feat, or a dynasty/empire established by a founder (e.g., 創業).
• Material Estate: Physical property, land, or inheritance—the tangible result of one's business or lineage.
• Academic/Disciplined: The body of knowledge, curriculum, or specific studies a student is tasked with mastering.
• Metaphysical (Buddhist): Used as the translation for //karma//, referring to "action" and its subsequent causal consequences.

Primarily functions as a noun. In compounds, it often acts as a category marker, transforming a verb-like concept into a formalized field of study or a professionalized practice.

• 業 vs. 工: While both relate to work, 工 typically denotes manual labor or craftsmanship; 業 denotes a calling, an enterprise, or a professional status.
• 業 vs. 功: 功 refers to specific merit, credit, or a particular success (the "trophy"); 業 refers to the broader career, structure, or enterprise that produced such success.

Simplified variant: U+4E1A.

Avoid translating 業 as "industry" in the modern industrial sense unless the text is very late; in ancient contexts, prefer "craft," "vocation," or "life's work."