Lesson 9 — What do you do? (你做什么工作？ / Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?)

Learn how to ask and answer questions about jobs and professions in Chinese.

1. Vocabulary | 生词 / New Words

Chinese	Pinyin	English
你	nǐ	you
我	wǒ	I / me
他 / 她	tā	he / she
做	zuò	do / make
什么	shénme	what
工作	gōngzuò	job / work
老师	lǎoshī	teacher
医生	yīshēng	doctor
学生	xuéshēng	student
工人	gōngrén	worker
商人	shāngrén	businessperson
公司	gōngsī	company
医院	yīyuàn	hospital
学校	xuéxiào	school
银行	yínháng	bank
司机	sījī	driver
工程师	gōngchéngshī	engineer
护士	hùshì	nurse
学生会	xuéshēng huì	student union
公司职员	gōngsī zhíyuán	office staff
律师	lǜshī	lawyer
记者	jìzhě	journalist / reporter
工程公司	gōngchéng gōngsī	engineering company
超市	chāoshì	supermarket
农民	nóngmín	farmer
学生	xuéshēng	student
艺术家	yìshùjiā	artist

2. Grammar | 语法

Sentence Patterns:

• 你做什么工作？
  Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?
  What do you do?
• 我做老师。
  Wǒ zuò lǎoshī.
  I am a teacher.
• 他在医院工作。
  Tā zài yīyuàn gōngzuò.
  He works at the hospital.
• 她是医生。
  Tā shì yīshēng.
  She is a doctor.
• 我在公司工作。
  Wǒ zài gōngsī gōngzuò.
  I work at a company.
• 他是工程师，在工程公司工作。
  Tā shì gōngchéngshī, zài gōngchéng gōngsī gōngzuò.
  He is an engineer and works at an engineering company.
• 学生在学校学习。
  Xuéshēng zài xuéxiào xuéxí.
  Students study at school.

Tips:

• Use 做 + profession for “do / work as” → 我做老师 = I am a teacher.
• Use 在 + place + 工作 for “work at a place” → 我在医院工作 = I work at the hospital.
• Use 是 + profession for identifying someone's job → 他是医生 = He is a doctor.

3. Dialogue | 对话

Chinese	Pinyin	English
A：你做什么工作？	Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?	What do you do?
B：我是老师。	Wǒ shì lǎoshī.	I am a teacher.
A：你在哪儿工作？	Nǐ zài nǎr gōngzuò?	Where do you work?
B：我在学校工作。	Wǒ zài xuéxiào gōngzuò.	I work at a school.
A：他做什么工作？	Tā zuò shénme gōngzuò?	What does he do?
B：他是医生，在医院工作。	Tā shì yīshēng, zài yīyuàn gōngzuò.	He is a doctor and works at a hospital.
A：她在公司工作吗？	Tā zài gōngsī gōngzuò ma?	Does she work at a company?
B：是的，她是公司职员。	Shì de, tā shì gōngsī zhíyuán.	Yes, she is an office staff at a company.
A：你朋友做什么工作？	Nǐ péngyǒu zuò shénme gōngzuò?	What does your friend do?
B：他是工程师，在工程公司工作。	Tā shì gōngchéngshī, zài gōngchéng gōngsī gōngzuò.	He is an engineer and works at an engineering company.
A：超市的员工做什么工作？	Chāoshì de yuángōng zuò shénme gōngzuò?	What do the supermarket staff do?
B：他们是销售员，负责卖东西。	Tāmen shì xiāoshòuyuán, fùzé mài dōngxī.	They are salespeople and responsible for selling products.
A：农民做什么工作？	Nóngmín zuò shénme gōngzuò?	What do farmers do?
B：他们种田，养动物。	Tāmen zhòng tián, yǎng dòngwù.	They grow crops and raise animals.

4. Extended Examples | 延伸句子

• 我做老师，在小学工作。
  I am a teacher and work at a primary school.
• 他做工程师，在工程公司工作。
  He is an engineer and works at an engineering company.
• 她做护士，在医院工作。
  She is a nurse and works at a hospital.
• 学生在学校学习和参加学生会活动。
  Students study at school and join student union activities.
• 商人在公司或市场做生意。
  Businesspeople work at companies or markets.
• 记者在报社或电视台工作。
  Journalists work at newspapers or TV stations.
• 艺术家在画廊或工作室创作艺术作品。
  Artists create artworks in galleries or studios.
• 司机在公司、出租车或公交车工作。
  Drivers work at companies, taxis, or buses.

5. Practice | 练习

1. Translate into Chinese and Pinyin:
   • I am a teacher and work at a school.
   • He is a doctor and works at the hospital.
   • She is an office staff and works at a company.
   • My friend is an engineer and works at an engineering company.
   • Farmers grow crops and raise animals.
   • Students study at school and join student union activities.
   • Drivers work at companies or drive taxis.
   • Journalists work at newspapers or TV stations.
2. Answer the questions:
   • 你做什么工作？
   • 你在哪儿工作？
   • 他做什么工作？
   • 她做什么工作？
   • 你的朋友做什么工作？
3. Create dialogues with a partner asking about jobs, workplaces, and responsibilities. Use at least 8 different professions.
4. Write a paragraph introducing your family and friends’ professions, using patterns:
   • 我做＿＿＿＿。
   • 我在＿＿＿＿工作。
   • 他/她是＿＿＿＿。
5. Practice speaking aloud: pretend to interview a friend and ask about their job and workplace, then describe what they do.

6. Summary | 总结

In this lesson, you learned how to ask about jobs and professions, describe your own job, talk about where people work, and explain what they do. You practiced different sentence patterns: 做 + profession, 在 + place + 工作, and 是 + profession. You also learned vocabulary for workplaces, jobs, and responsibilities. Using these patterns regularly will help you confidently discuss occupations in Chinese.