HSK Guide

上班 shàngbān — to go to work, to be at work

shàngbān (fourth tone, falling)shang4ban1

to go to work, to be at work

HSK 2· HSK 1–4 (classic)verb
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Meanings

  1. to go to work, to be at work

    To go to or be at work. It is a verb plus its own object, so the workplace is marked with 在 before it: 在公司上班, never 上班公司.

    verb

Character breakdown

  • 上
    shàng (fourth tone, falling)

    above, upper, on top of; to go up, to get on, to attend; last, previous (上个月)

    3 strokesRadical 一

Example sentences

  • 爸爸每天八点去上班。爸爸每天八點去上班。Bàba (fourth tone, falling) měi (third tone, dipping) tiān (first tone, high and level) bā (first tone, high and level) diǎn (third tone, dipping) qù (fourth tone, falling) shàngbān. (fourth tone, falling)···

    Dad leaves for work at eight every day.

  • 我在一家公司上班。Wǒ (third tone, dipping) zài (fourth tone, falling) yì (fourth tone, falling) jiā (first tone, high and level) gōngsī (first tone, high and level) shàngbān. (fourth tone, falling)···

    I work at a company.

Common mistakes

  • Not quite我上班公司。

    Correct我在公司上班。

    上班 already contains its object 班, so a place cannot follow it. The workplace goes in front, introduced by 在.

Similar words

Words containing 上