More Jobs & Occupations in Chinese 职业二
zhíyè èr
Job, work in Chinese is 工作 (gōng zuò).
Also searched for as: job titles, careers, professions, work.
Even more jobs. 15 essential jobs 2 words in Mandarin Chinese, with pinyin and English. Open it in the app to hear each word, tick off the ones you know and turn them into flashcards.
Once you can say 老师 and 医生, the next step is the wider world of work: 演员 (yǎn yuán) for an actor, 飞行员 (fēi xíng yuán) for a pilot and 快递员 (kuài dì yuán) for the courier who brings your parcels. These are the words you need for talking about dream jobs, family members and the people you meet every day, and many of them follow a handy pattern that makes new ones easy to guess.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 演员 | yǎn yuán | actor |
| 歌手 | gē shǒu | singer |
| 作家 | zuò jiā | writer |
| 科学家 | kē xué jiā | scientist |
| 飞行员 | fēi xíng yuán | pilot |
| 消防员 | xiāo fáng yuán | firefighter |
| 理发师 | lǐ fà shī | hairdresser |
| 快递员 | kuài dì yuán | courier |
| 保安 | bǎo ān | security guard |
| 导游 | dǎo yóu | tour guide |
| 翻译 | fān yì | translator; interpreter |
| 售货员 | shòu huò yuán | shop assistant |
| 运动员 | yùn dòng yuán | athlete |
| 兽医 | shòu yī | vet |
| 自由职业者 | zì yóu zhí yè zhě | freelancer |
Usage tips
- 员 (yuán) marks someone doing a job, as in 消防员 and 运动员, while 家 (jiā) marks an expert or creator, as in 作家, 科学家 and 画家 (huà jiā), painter.
- For dream jobs, 我想当兽医 (wǒ xiǎng dāng shòu yī) is the everyday way to say "I want to be a vet"; 成为 (chéng wéi), to become, sounds more formal and written.
- 翻译 (fān yì) covers translator, interpreter and the verb 'to translate'. To be precise, interpreting is 口译 (kǒu yì) and written translation 笔译 (bǐ yì).
Common mistakes
- Calling the author of a particular book its 作家 → 作家 (zuò jiā) is a writer by profession; the author of a specific work is its 作者 (zuò zhě), as in 这本书的作者.
- Mixing up 兽医 (shòu yī) and 售货员 (shòu huò yuán) because they sound alike → 兽 means animal and 售 means to sell, so the vet is 兽医 and the shop assistant 售货员.
Mini dialogue
- A你小时候想当什么？Nǐ xiǎo shí hou xiǎng dāng shén me?What did you want to be when you were little?
- B我想当飞行员，可是我的眼睛不太好。你呢？Wǒ xiǎng dāng fēi xíng yuán, kě shì wǒ de yǎn jing bù tài hǎo. Nǐ ne?I wanted to be a pilot, but my eyesight isn't great. You?
- A我想当歌手，现在我是导游。Wǒ xiǎng dāng gē shǒu, xiàn zài wǒ shì dǎo yóu.I wanted to be a singer. Now I'm a tour guide.
- B导游也不错，每天都可以给游客唱歌！Dǎo yóu yě bù cuò, měi tiān dōu kě yǐ gěi yóu kè chàng gē!Being a guide's not bad, you can sing to the tourists every day!
Example sentences
- 她想当演员。She wants to be an actor.
- 他是一位有名的歌手。He's a famous singer.
- 我想成为作家。I want to become a writer.
- 她是一名科学家。She's a scientist.
- 他小时候想当飞行员。He wanted to be a pilot as a child.
- 消防员很勇敢。Firefighters are very brave.
- 我朋友是理发师。My friend is a hairdresser.
- 快递员每天送很多包裹。Couriers deliver lots of parcels every day.
- 保安在门口工作。The security guard works at the gate.
- 导游带我们参观了故宫。The guide showed us around the Forbidden City.
- 她是一名中文翻译。She's a Chinese translator.
- 售货员很热情。The shop assistant is very friendly.
- 他是职业运动员。He's a professional athlete.
- 我想当兽医。I want to be a vet.
- 我是一个自由职业者。I'm a freelancer.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Jobs 2 speaking island has 8 everyday questions about jobs 2 to prepare your own answers to.