Office politics in Chinese 办公室政治
bàngōngshì zhèngzhì
Office politics in Chinese is 办公室政治 (bàn gōng shì zhèng zhì).
Also searched for as: workplace drama, office gossip, scapegoat, taking the blame, toxic workplace, passing the buck.
Who takes the blame, who takes the credit, who's on whose side. 15 essential office politics 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.
办公室政治 (bàn gōng shì zhèng zhì) is a direct translation of 'office politics', but Chinese has a rich store of colourful slang for what actually goes on. Someone who 甩锅 (shuǎi guō), 'flings the wok', passes the buck, leaving a colleague to 背锅 (bēi guō), 'carry the wok', and take the blame. Then there's 拍马屁 (pāi mǎ pì), literally 'patting the horse's bottom', for sucking up to the boss.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 办公室政治 | bàn gōng shì zhèng zhì | office politics |
| 职场 | zhí chǎng | the workplace |
| 背锅 | bēi guō | to take the blame (for someone else) |
| 甩锅 | shuǎi guō | to pass the buck |
| 站队 | zhàn duì | to take sides |
| 抢功 | qiǎng gōng | to steal the credit |
| 拍马屁 | pāi mǎ pì | to suck up |
| 红人 | hóng rén | favourite (the boss's pet) |
| 八卦 | bā guà | to gossip; gossip |
| 小团体 | xiǎo tuán tǐ | clique |
| 得罪 | dé zuì | to offend |
| 穿小鞋 | chuān xiǎo xié | to make life hard for someone |
| 勾心斗角 | gōu xīn dòu jiǎo | to scheme against each other |
| 内卷 | nèi juǎn | rat race; cut-throat competition |
| 情商 | qíng shāng | emotional intelligence; EQ |
Usage tips
- The 锅 (guō) expressions are informal internet-era slang, so use them with colleagues you're friendly with rather than in a meeting or an email.
- 穿小鞋 (chuān xiǎo xié), literally 'making someone wear tight shoes', describes quiet revenge by someone with power over you, and you'll usually hear it as a warning: 小心他给你穿小鞋 (xiǎo xīn tā gěi nǐ chuān xiǎo xié).
- 内卷 (nèi juǎn), originally an academic term for 'involution', is everyday slang for pointless, ever-escalating competition, such as everyone staying late simply because everyone else does.
Common mistakes
- Taking 拍马屁 (pāi mǎ pì) as mild: saying it to someone's face is quite rude, so a gentler tease is 你真会说话 (nǐ zhēn huì shuō huà), 'you've got a way with words'.
- Confusing 红人 (hóng rén), a boss's favourite, with 网红 (wǎng hóng), an internet celebrity; and calling a colleague a 红人 to their face can sound like an accusation of favouritism.
Mini dialogue
- A项目出问题了，老板很生气。Xiàng mù chū wèn tí le, lǎo bǎn hěn shēng qì.The project's gone wrong and the boss is furious.
- B谁的责任？Shéi de zé rèn?Whose fault is it?
- A本来是小张的，可是他一出事就甩锅给我。Běn lái shì Xiǎo Zhāng de, kě shì tā yī chū shì jiù shuǎi guō gěi wǒ.It was Xiao Zhang's, but the moment things went wrong he passed the buck to me.
- B又让你背锅？你得跟老板说清楚。Yòu ràng nǐ bēi guō? Nǐ děi gēn lǎo bǎn shuō qīng chu.You're taking the blame again? You need to set the record straight with the boss.
- A我怕得罪他，他可是老板面前的红人。Wǒ pà dé zuì tā, tā kě shì lǎo bǎn miàn qián de hóng rén.I'm worried about offending him, he's the boss's favourite.
Example sentences
- 我最讨厌办公室政治。I really hate office politics.
- 职场上说话要小心。Watch what you say at work.
- 又是我背锅，凭什么？Why am I taking the blame again?
- 一出问题他就甩锅。The moment anything goes wrong he passes the buck.
- 新领导来了，大家都在站队。With the new boss here, everyone's picking sides.
- 她最会抢功了。She's the best at stealing the credit.
- 别拍马屁了，好好干活。Stop sucking up and get on with your work.
- 她是老板面前的红人。She's the boss's favourite.
- 别在办公室里八卦了。Stop gossiping in the office.
- 我们部门有好几个小团体。There are several cliques in our department.
- 我好像得罪他了。I think I've offended him.
- 得罪了领导，小心他给你穿小鞋。Offend the boss and watch out, he'll make life hard for you.
- 这里的人勾心斗角，太累了。People here are always scheming, it's exhausting.
- 大家都在加班，太内卷了。Everyone's working overtime, it's such a rat race.
- 在职场上，情商很重要。At work, EQ really matters.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Office politics speaking island has 8 everyday questions about office politics to prepare your own answers to.