Chinese word

换班

Pronunciation

Pinyinhuàn bān

Meaning

  • verbswap shifts

Example

今晚我跟同事换班，可以吗？jīn wǎn wǒ gēn tóng shì huàn bān ké yǐ ma

Can I swap shifts with my coworker tonight?

Illustration for 换班 (swap shifts)

More examples

因为有事，我请同事帮我换班。yīn wèi yǒu shì wǒ qǐng tóng shì bāng wǒ huàn bān

I have something to do, so I asked my coworker to cover my shift.

Core concept

One work shift moves from its original worker to another, or two workers trade their scheduled turns.

Common phrases

  • 跟同事换班gēn tóng shì huàn bān

    swap shifts with a coworker

  • 帮同事换班bāng tóng shì huàn bān

    cover a coworker's shift

  • 临时换班lín shí huàn bān

    swap shifts at short notice

Similar words

代班dài bān: Work another person's scheduled shift in their place.
调班diào bān: Formally change a worker's scheduled shift or assignment through workplace scheduling.
轮班lún bān: Take work shifts in turn according to a repeating schedule.

Definition in Chinese

在工作排班中，临时把自己的一次班次让给别人或与别人互换班次，从而改变当次的上班安排。zài gōng zuò pái bān zhōng lín shí bǎ zì jǐ de yí cì bān cì ràng gěi bié rén huò yǔ bié rén hù huàn bān cì cóng ér gǎi biàn dāng cì de shàng bān ān pái

Word origin

换班 (huànbān, "shift swapping") combines 换 (huàn, "change or exchange") with 班 (bān, "work shift"), picturing a scheduled turn changing hands.

Usage tips

  • Casual workplace requests commonly use this verb between coworkers, whereas an official schedule change made by management belongs to more formal scheduling language.

Other meanings

  • cover for someoneverb

Opposites

  • 继续上班jì xù shàng bāncontinue workingverb

Word lists with this word