How to Say “Take notes” in Chinese
Work and study · HSK 2
"Take notes" in Chinese is 做笔记 (zuò bǐ jì). 笔记 (bǐjì) literally means 'pen-record' and is the everyday word for notes; whether from a lecture or a meeting. The verb is 做 (zuò, 'to make/do'), not 拿 ('take') like English.
Primary translation
做笔记
zuò bǐ jì
Traditional: 做筆記
Variants by register
Formal
请做好会议记录
qǐng zuò hǎo huì yì jì lù
Casual
记一下
jì yī xià
When to use it
笔记 (bǐjì) literally means 'pen-record' and is the everyday word for notes; whether from a lecture or a meeting. The verb is 做 (zuò, 'to make/do'), not 拿 ('take') like English. In meetings, the formal 会议记录 (huìyì jìlù) refers specifically to meeting minutes, and there's usually a designated 记录员 (jìlù yuán, 'note-taker'); it's often the most junior person in the room, a cultural detail worth knowing. 记一下 is the casual 'jot it down' you'd say to a colleague.
Example sentences
你们要认真做笔记。
Nǐ men yào rèn zhēn zuò bǐ jì.
You should take careful notes.
小李，麻烦你记一下。
Xiǎo Lǐ, má fan nǐ jì yī xià.
Xiao Li, please jot this down.
这次会议谁做记录？
Zhè cì huì yì shéi zuò jì lù?
Who's taking minutes for this meeting?