Volunteering & Charity in Chinese 志愿和慈善
zhìyuàn hé císhàn
Volunteer in Chinese is 志愿者 (zhì yuàn zhě).
Also searched for as: volunteer, charity, donate.
How can you help others? 15 essential volunteering & charity 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.
A volunteer in Chinese is 志愿者 (zhì yuàn zhě), and 做志愿者 (zuò zhì yuàn zhě) is the everyday way to say you volunteer. Here you'll find words for giving your time and money, like 捐款 (juān kuǎn), to donate money, and 献血 (xiàn xuè), to give blood, as well as places you might help out, such as a 养老院 (yǎng lǎo yuàn), care home. They're useful for talking about your hobbies, writing a personal statement or chatting about community life.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 志愿者 | zhì yuàn zhě | volunteer |
| 做志愿者 | zuò zhì yuàn zhě | to volunteer |
| 慈善 | cí shàn | charity |
| 捐 | juān | to donate |
| 捐款 | juān kuǎn | to donate money |
| 帮助 | bāng zhù | to help |
| 社区 | shè qū | community |
| 养老院 | yǎng lǎo yuàn | care home |
| 献血 | xiàn xuè | to give blood |
| 无家可归 | wú jiā kě guī | homeless |
| 需要 | xū yào | to need |
| 爱心 | ài xīn | kindness; compassion |
| 回报 | huí bào | to give back |
| 活动 | huó dòng | event; activity |
| 有意义 | yǒu yì yì | meaningful |
Usage tips
- In Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore and Malaysia you'll often hear 义工 (yì gōng) for a volunteer or voluntary work, as in 做义工 (zuò yì gōng); 志愿者 is the standard mainland term.
- 捐 (juān) works with anything you give away: 捐衣服 (juān yī fu), to donate clothes; 捐书 (juān shū), to donate books. 捐款 is specifically money, and 捐钱 (juān qián) is the more casual version.
- 献血 uses 献 (xiàn), to offer up, which sounds more respectful than 给. The standard reading of 血 here is xuè, though you'll often hear xiě in casual speech.
Common mistakes
- Saying 我是志愿 for "I'm a volunteer" → you need 者: 我是志愿者 (wǒ shì zhì yuàn zhě). 志愿 alone means an aspiration or a preference, such as a university choice.
- Confusing 有意义 (yǒu yì yì), meaningful or worthwhile, with 有意思 (yǒu yì si), interesting or fun → volunteering is 很有意义; a funny film is 很有意思.
Mini dialogue
- A你周末一般做什么？Nǐ zhōu mò yī bān zuò shén me?What do you usually do at weekends?
- B我在养老院做志愿者，陪老人聊天。Wǒ zài yǎng lǎo yuàn zuò zhì yuàn zhě, péi lǎo rén liáo tiān.I volunteer at a care home, chatting with the elderly residents.
- A真有意义！他们需要更多人帮忙吗？Zhēn yǒu yì yì! Tā men xū yào gèng duō rén bāng máng ma?That's really worthwhile! Do they need more people to help?
- B需要啊，你想一起来吗？Xū yào a, nǐ xiǎng yī qǐ lái ma?They do! Do you want to come along?
- A好啊，我下个星期跟你去。Hǎo a, wǒ xià ge xīng qī gēn nǐ qù.Sure, I'll go with you next week.
Example sentences
- 我是一名志愿者。I'm a volunteer.
- 周末我去做志愿者。I volunteer at weekends.
- 他经常做慈善。He often does charity work.
- 我捐了一些旧衣服。I donated some old clothes.
- 大家一起捐款。Everyone donated money together.
- 我们要帮助有困难的人。We should help people in need.
- 社区组织了很多活动。The community organised lots of events.
- 我们去养老院看老人。We visited the elderly at the care home.
- 我每年献一次血。I give blood once a year.
- 城市里有很多无家可归的人。There are many homeless people in the city.
- 他们需要我们的帮助。They need our help.
- 谢谢你的爱心！Thank you for your kindness!
- 我想回报社会。I want to give back to society.
- 这个活动是免费的。This event is free.
- 这件事很有意义。This is really meaningful.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Volunteering & charity speaking island has 8 everyday questions about volunteering & charity to prepare your own answers to.