How to Say “Time to clock out” in Chinese
Work and study · HSK 3
"Time to clock out" in Chinese is 该下班了 (Gāi xiàbān le). 下班 (xiàbān) literally means 'off shift' and is the universal word for ending the workday; opposite of 上班 (shàngbān, 'on shift'). 该.
Primary translation
该下班了
Gāi xiàbān le
Traditional: 該下班了
Variants by register
Formal
到下班时间了
Dào xiàbān shíjiān le
Casual
下班啦！
Xiàbān la!
When to use it
下班 (xiàbān) literally means 'off shift' and is the universal word for ending the workday; opposite of 上班 (shàngbān, 'on shift'). 该...了 is a useful pattern meaning 'it's time to...' that you can swap any verb into (该吃饭了 = time to eat). Culturally, leaving work on time can be loaded in China's 996 culture (9am–9pm, 6 days a week); saying 准时下班 (zhǔnshí xiàbān, 'leaving on time') sometimes carries a quiet pride. The cheerful 下班啦 with sentence-final 啦 (la) is what coworkers actually shout on the way out the door.
Example sentences
六点了，该下班了！
Liù diǎn le, gāi xiàbān le!
It's six; time to clock out!
今天我准时下班，不加班。
Jīntiān wǒ zhǔnshí xiàbān, bù jiābān.
Today I'm clocking out on time; no overtime.
下班啦，大家辛苦了！
Xiàbān la, dàjiā xīnkǔ le!
Time to clock out; great work today, everyone!