圈子

• Pinyin: quān zi
• Desglose de hanzi: 圈 = 囗 + 卷 (circle — an enclosed boundary); 子 (nominal suffix indicating a group or entity)

Significado

Círculo (social/profesional); entorno; grupo.

文艺圈子 (literary and arts circle), 朋友圈子 (friend circle). Can be neutral or slightly pejorative when implying an insular clique. In modern digital usage, 朋友圈 (WeChat Moments) is a closely related term. 进入某个圈子 means to break into a particular social or professional network.

Ejemplos

1. 在这个圈子里混得久了，你自然就会摸清其中的规则与潜规则。
2. 他多年来深耕学术圈子，与国内外众多知名学者建立了深厚的合作关系。
3. 娱乐圈子的竞争异常激烈，每年大量新人入行却只有极少数能够真正站稳脚跟。

Guía de uso

Contexto: social networking, entertainment, academia, business

Tono: neutral

Correcto

• 想在投资圈子里站稳脚跟，除了专业能力之外，建立可信赖的人脉网络同样至关重要。(To establish oneself in the investment circle, building a trustworthy network is just as crucial as professional competence.)
• 她刚从外地来到这座城市，在本地的朋友圈子还很小，生活上多有不便。(Having just arrived from out of town, her local social circle was still very small, making daily life somewhat inconvenient.)

Incorrecto

• 在圈子里绕了一圈 — use 绕了一圈 alone for physically going around in a circle; 圈子 in this context means a social group, not a physical loop

Origen e historia

圈 (circle) + 子 (diminutive/collective suffix) — a circle; a bounded social group

Contexto cultural

Generación: All ages

Contexto social: Universal