Chinese word

下班

Pronunciation

Pinyinxià bān

Meaning

  • verbget off work

Example

他六点才下班。tā liù diǎn cái xià bān

He does not get off work until six.

Illustration for 下班 (get off work)

More examples

我今天可以早点下班。wǒ jīn tiān ké yǐ záo diǎn xià bān

I can get off work early today.

Core concept

The daily boundary between being on duty and being free from that duty.

Common phrases

  • 马上下班mǎ shàng xià bān

    get off work right away

  • 下班回家xià bān huí jiā

    get off work and go home

  • 下班以后xià bān yǐ hòu

    after getting off work

Similar words

上班shàng bān: Start working after arriving at the workplace.
工作gōng zuò: Work at a job or perform tasks.
休息xiū xī: Take time to relax and recover physically or mentally.
回家huí jiā: Go back home after work or an outing.

Definition in Chinese

结束当天的工作任务或班次，通常表示到达可以离开岗位的时间点或动作。jié shù dàng tiān de gōng zuò rèn wù huò bān cì tōng cháng biǎo shì dào dá ké yǐ lí kāi gǎng wèi de shí jiān diǎn huò dòng zuò

Word origin

The combination 下 (xià, "down") and 班 (bān, "work shift") presents the work shift as something that ends when a person steps away from it.

Usage tips

  • 下班 (xiàbān, "finish work") is tied to a person's work period, so it does not normally describe the end of a class, lesson, or one-off appointment.

Other meanings

  • leave the officeverb

Opposites

Word lists with this word