单位 dānwèi unit (of measure)
unit (of measure); unit (group of people as a whole); work unit (place of employment, especially in the PRC prior to economic reform)
How to remember 单位: 单 single + 位 position = unit (of measure).
Characters
How it is used
- As a noun it means a unit of measurement: 长度单位 (chángdù dānwèi) unit of length.
- Its other very common sense is "work unit" - one's employer or organization, a term rooted in the old state-job system but still used casually today: 你在哪个单位工作?(nǐ zài nǎge dānwèi gōngzuò?) - where do you work?
- In this second sense it's roughly equivalent to "my company/office" in everyday adult conversation.