Jobs and Occupations

25 minutes

Learn words for different jobs and occupations in Chinese.

Jobs and Occupations

How to use these phrases

What do you want to be when you grow up? In this lesson, you will learn how to say doctor, teacher, police officer, and more in Chinese. In Chinese, "工作" (gōng zuò) means "work" or "job". To ask "What do you do?", say "你做什么工作?" (nǐ zuò shén me gōng zuò?). To answer, say "我是..." (wǒ shì...) followed by your job. "医生" (yī shēng) is a doctor, "老师" (lǎo shī) is a teacher, "警察" (jǐng chá) is a police officer. Notice that "老师" literally means "old teacher" - it is a respectful title! What do your parents do? Say their jobs in Chinese!

Chinese vocabulary and Pinyin

ChinesePinyinMeaning
医生yī shēngDoctor
老师lǎo shīTeacher
警察jǐng cháPolice officer
厨师chú shīChef
工作gōng zuòWork / Job
工人gōng rénWorker
学生xué shengStudent
护士hù shiNurse

Example sentences

我的妈妈是医生。

Wǒ de mā ma shì yī shēng.

My mother is a doctor.

你做什么工作?

Nǐ zuò shén me gōng zuò?

What do you do for work?

他是老师。

Tā shì lǎo shī.

He is a teacher.

我想当厨师。

Wǒ xiǎng dāng chú shī.

I want to be a chef.

警察帮助人们。

Jǐng chá bāng zhù rén men.

Police officers help people.

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