· 7 lists · 279 words

Work and careers

The job, the office, the colleagues and the meeting.

What holds these lists together

Work in Chinese runs on shifts that go up and down: 上班(shàngbān) is to go to work, 下班(xiàbān) to finish, and 加班(jiābān), adding a shift, is overtime. A colleague is addressed by family name and job title, 李(Lǐ)经理(jīnglǐ), rather than by given name, and the polite 您(nín) is the default with clients and with anyone senior. Meetings and negotiations move into a written register even when spoken: an agreement is not simply made but reached, 达成(dáchéng)共识(gòngshí), and these fixed pairs of verb and noun are worth learning as pairs. The lists follow a working life from the first job to the contract, the appraisal and the negotiating table.

The seven lists

2Work and jobsGoing to work, the people at work, shifts, earning money and looking for a job.39 words 3At work and in the officeMeetings, overtime, time off, applying for a job and the paperwork of an ordinary working day.40 words 3Jobs and professionsWhat people do for a living, and how to say what somebody works as.40 words 4In the companyPosts and departments, joining and leaving, and the shape of a career.40 words 4Communication at workReporting, arranging, confirming and keeping a project moving in an office.40 words 5Work, pay and personnelContracts and appraisals, pay rises and redundancies, and what a job comes with.40 words 5Negotiations and formal meetingsAgendas and votes, offers and concessions, and the moment both sides sign.40 words

Spread across the levels

The category runs across the levels — it is an area, not a difficulty. If you practise it, you can also choose a level at the top of the practice page and then get only the part that sits there.

Level	Words	Share
2	39	14 %
3	81	29 %
4	83	30 %
5	76	27 %

Practise this category

Multiple choice and gaps, across all seven lists and all 279 words. Whatever you get wrong comes back tomorrow.