Working From Home in Chinese 在家办公
zàijiā bàngōng
Work from home in Chinese is 在家办公 (zài jiā bàn gōng).
Also searched for as: work from home, WFH, remote work.
Do you even need to go in? 15 essential working from home 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.
Working from home in Chinese is 在家办公 (zài jiā bàn gōng), literally 'doing office work at home', and it comes with a whole set of modern words for life on video calls. You'll want 视频会议 (shì pín huì yì) for a video meeting, 静音 (jìng yīn) for mute, 共享屏幕 (gòng xiǎng píng mù) for sharing your screen, and the very handy 卡 (kǎ) for when the picture freezes.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 在家办公 | zài jiā bàn gōng | to work from home |
| 远程 | yuǎn chéng | remote |
| 视频会议 | shì pín huì yì | video meeting |
| 开摄像头 | kāi shè xiàng tóu | to turn on the camera |
| 静音 | jìng yīn | mute |
| 网速 | wǎng sù | internet speed |
| 卡 | kǎ | laggy; frozen |
| 共享屏幕 | gòng xiǎng píng mù | to share your screen |
| 自律 | zì lǜ | self-discipline |
| 效率 | xiào lǜ | efficiency |
| 通勤 | tōng qín | commute |
| 打卡 | dǎ kǎ | to clock in |
| 上线 | shàng xiàn | to be online |
| 混合办公 | hùn hé bàn gōng | hybrid working |
| 穿睡衣 | chuān shuì yī | to wear pyjamas |
Usage tips
- 卡 (kǎ) is the everyday word for a laggy connection: 你那边卡了 (nǐ nà biān kǎ le) means "your end has frozen", and 有点卡 (yǒu diǎn kǎ) means "it's a bit laggy".
- 打卡 (dǎ kǎ) means clocking in, but it's also widely used for visiting a famous spot and posting a photo to prove it, as in 网红打卡地 (wǎng hóng dǎ kǎ dì), a social-media hotspot.
- You'll also hear 居家办公 (jū jiā bàn gōng) for working from home and 远程办公 (yuǎn chéng bàn gōng) for remote working; all three are understood everywhere.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up 开静音 and 关静音 → 开静音 (kāi jìng yīn) turns mute on and 关静音 (guān jìng yīn) turns it off, so "you forgot to unmute" is 你忘了关静音.
- Writing 效率 and 自律 with plain lu → both use the ü sound, lǜ, as in 效率 (xiào lǜ) and 自律 (zì lǜ); lù with a plain u is a different syllable, as in 路 (lù), road.
Mini dialogue
- A现在能听到我吗？刚才忘了关静音。Xiàn zài néng tīng dào wǒ ma? Gāng cái wàng le guān jìng yīn.Can you hear me now? I forgot to unmute just now.
- B能听到，不过画面有点卡。Néng tīng dào, bù guò huà miàn yǒu diǎn kǎ.I can hear you, but the picture's a bit laggy.
- A我家网速太慢了，我先关摄像头吧。Wǒ jiā wǎng sù tài màn le, wǒ xiān guān shè xiàng tóu ba.My internet at home is really slow. I'll turn my camera off.
- B好的。那我共享一下屏幕，我们开始吧。Hǎo de. Nà wǒ gòng xiǎng yī xià píng mù, wǒ men kāi shǐ ba.OK. I'll share my screen, then, and we'll get started.
Example sentences
- 我每周在家办公两天。I work from home two days a week.
- 这是一份远程工作。This is a remote job.
- 我们十点有视频会议。We have a video meeting at ten.
- 请开一下摄像头。Please turn your camera on.
- 你忘了关静音。You forgot to unmute.
- 家里网速太慢了。The internet at home is too slow.
- 画面卡住了。The picture's frozen.
- 我共享一下屏幕。Let me share my screen.
- 在家办公需要自律。Working from home takes self-discipline.
- 在家工作效率更高。I'm more productive at home.
- 不用通勤，太好了。No commute, brilliant.
- 我们用手机打卡。We clock in on our phones.
- 我九点上线。I'm online from nine.
- 我们公司是混合办公。My company does hybrid working.
- 在家办公可以穿睡衣。You can wear pyjamas when you work from home.
Practise speaking
Ready to use these words? The Working from home speaking island has 8 everyday questions about working from home to prepare your own answers to.