Occupations in Chinese 👩🏾‍⚕️ A Complete List of 61 Job Titles in Mandarin

Discover 61 Jobs and Occupations in Chinese (PLUS FREE Quiz)

When first meeting someone in China it’d be handy to know how to say your occupation in Chinese.

Think about it, you meet someone new, how does the conversation go?

“Hi, nice to meet you, I’m Max. What’s your name?”
“您好，很高兴认识你，我是马克斯。你叫什么名字？”

“Hi, I’m Campbell. Nice to meet you Max, where are you from?”
“我是坎贝尔。很高兴认识您马克斯，你来自哪里？”

“England, you?”
“英国，你呢？”

“Australia. What’s your job…”
“澳大利亚。你的工作是什么…”

BAM, there it is…

There’s no avoiding those questions that inevitably come up whenever you meet someone new.

Before teaching you all those useful occupations in Chinese let’s set the scene as we started to above and teach you some other useful sentences you can use:

• Job
  • 工作
  • gōngzuò

• What is your job?
  • 你做什么工作?
  • nǐ zuò shén me gōng zuò?

• Do you enjoy your job?
  • 你喜欢你的工作吗？
  • Nǐ xǐhuān nǐ de gōngzuò ma

• What is your dream job?
  • 你理想的工作是什么？
  • Nǐ lǐxiǎng de gōngzuò shì shénme?

• How long have you been (an engineer) for?
  • 您当（工程师）多久了？
  • Nín dāng （gōngchéngshī） duōjiǔle?

Stating what job you do is easy. You can simply use Wǒ dāng 我当.

A common one in China for foreigners is I’M AN ENGLISH TEACHER

我当英语老师 – Wǒ dāng yīngyǔ lǎoshī

Alright then, now we have some of the basics nailed, let’s reveal some occupations in Chinese.

Oh, before we do… when jobs are talked of in China, money will inevitably pop up too (it’s quite common you are asked what you salary is, rather odd when coming from the west).

On that note we should take a minute to learn these

Jobs in Chinese – In the Office

Jobs in Chinese – Personal Care & Health

Jobs in Chinese – Education & Culture

Jobs in Chinese – Services

Jobs in Chinese – Hospitality & Tourism

Jobs in Chinese – Sports & Entertainment

Jobs in Chinese – Other

BONUS FREEBIE – Quiz

Occupations in Chinese – Office

We start off with a more common category. With so many working behind a computer these days there are many of us who have the 9-5 office life.

Here are some of those occupations in Chinese:

• accountant – 会计 kuài jì
• designer – 设计师 shè jì shī
• lawyer – 律师 lǜ shī
• receptionist – 招待员 zhāo dài yuán
• secretary – 秘书 mì shū

My younger sister is an accountant
我妹妹是会计师
wǒ mèimei shì kuàijìshī

My best friend wants to date our secretary
我最好的朋友想和我们的秘书约会
wǒ zuì hǎo de péngyǒu xiǎng hé wǒmen de mìshū yuēhuì

On the subject of dating… my best friend better be careful on when asking the secretary out. Let’s hope he doesn’t make the same mistake Ben did

Occupations in Chinese – Personal Care & Health

Always taking care of us, where would we all be without…

• beautician – 美容师 měi róng shī
• doctor – 医生 yī shēng
• hairdresser – 理发师 lǐ fà shī
• nurse – 护士 hù shì
• pharmacist – 药剂师 yàojì shī

I have been going to the same hairdresser for ten years
我去同一个理发店已有十年了
Wǒ qù tóng yīgè lǐfǎ diàn yǐ yǒu shí niánle

You have a fever? I will go and see the pharmacist
你发烧了吗 我去看药剂师
Nǐ fāshāole ma wǒ qù kàn yàojì shī

Occupations in Chinese – Education & Culture

Teaching us everything we know and making things look beautifully pretty. Let’s delve into Educational and Cultural jobs in Chinese…

• artist – 艺术家 yì shù jiā
• farmer – 农民 nóngmín
• gardener – 花匠 huā jiàng
• poet – 诗人 shī rén
• scientist – 科学家 kē xué jiā
• teacher – 老师 lǎo shī
• writer – 作家 zuò jiā

When I grow up I want to be an artist
我长大后想成为一名艺术家
Wǒ zhǎng dà hòu xiǎng chéngwéi yī míng yìshùjiā.

My elder brother works as an English teacher in Shenzhen
我哥哥在深圳当英语老师
Wǒ gēgē zài shēnzhèn dāng yīngyǔ lǎoshī

Occupations in Chinese – Services

The people we could not do without. Here some some important services in Chinese.

• architect – 建筑师 jiànzhú shī
• carpenter – 木匠 mù jiàng
• engineer – 工程师 gōng chéng shī
• fireman – 消防队员 xiāofáng duìyuán
• freelancer – 自由职业 zì yóu zhí yè
• plumber – 水管工人 shuǐguǎn gōngrén
• police officer – 警察 jǐng chá
• sales person – 售货员 shòu huò yuán

Firemen and Policeman are courageous
消防队员和警察都很勇敢
Xiāofáng duìyuán hé jǐngchá dōu hěn yǒnggǎn

I want to be an architect because they are well paid
我想成为一名建筑师，因为他们的薪水很高
Wǒ xiǎng chéngwéi yī míng jiànzhú shī, yīnwèi tāmen de xīnshuǐ hěn gāo

Occupations in Chinese – Hospitality & Tourism

Always under pressure to perform no matter when and where, here are some popular jobs in the hospitality and tourism industry.

• chef – 厨师 chú shī
• tour guide – 导游 dǎoyóu
• travel agent – 旅行社 lǚxíng shè
• waiter/waitress – 服务员 fú wù yuán

Our waiter was so polite
我们的服务员太客气了
Wǒmen de fúwùyuán tài kèqìle

The travel agent was too expensive, so we planned our own holiday
旅行社太贵了，所以我们计划了自己的假期
Lǚxíngshè tài guìle, suǒyǐ wǒmen jìhuàle zìjǐ de jiàqī

Occupations in Chinese – Sports & Entertainment

Now for some of those dream jobs many of us aspire towards when we are younger.

• actor/actress – 演员 yǎn yuán
• director – 导演 dǎoyǎn
• footballer – 足球运动员 zúqiú yùndòngyuán
• photographer – 摄影师 shè yǐng shī
• singer – 歌手 gēshǒu
• musician – 音乐家 yīn yuè jiā

I want to be an (actor / footballer) when I grow up
我长大后想当 (演员/足球运动员)
Wǒ zhǎng dà hòu xiǎng dāng (yǎnyuán/zúqiú yùndòngyuán)

Incidentally a good word for these sorts of jobs is celebrity which in Chinese is:

明星 míngxīng

Occupations in Chinese – Other

To finish off some other useful terms when it comes to discussing occupations in Chinese.

For example you could be a Policeman, but what if you are the boss of your department?

• assistant – 助理 zhù lǐ
• boss – 老板 lǎo bǎn
• business person – 商人 shāng rén
• department – 部 bù
  • Marketing Department – 市场部 shìchǎng bù
  • HR Department – 人事部 rénshì bù
• magician – 魔术师 mó shù shī
• manager – 经理 jīng lǐ

Can you tell us what your dream job is in Chinese? How about your current job?

Did we miss your job out? Tell us and we’ll add it!

Drop us a comment below.

Occupations in Chinese – Quiz

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Occupations in Chinese – FAQ’s

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