How to Say “What do you do?” in Chinese
Work and study · HSK 2
"What do you do?" in Chinese is 你做什么工作 (Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò). The pattern 是..
Primary translation
你做什么工作
Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò
Traditional: 你做什麼工作
Variants by register
Formal
您是做什么工作的
Nín shì zuò shénme gōngzuò de
Casual
你是干什么的
Nǐ shì gàn shénme de
When to use it
The pattern 是...的 (shì...de) in 你是做什么工作的 emphasizes identity; 'what sort of work is it you do'; and sounds more natural than the bare 你做什么工作. Casual 你是干什么的 uses 干 (gàn), the colloquial 'do,' but careful: said with the wrong tone it can sound accusatory ('what are you up to?'). In Mainland small talk, people often skip the job question and ask 你在哪儿上班? ('where do you work?'); the company often signals the role. In Taiwan you'll hear 你在哪裡高就? as a polite variant.
Example sentences
您是做什么工作的？
Nín shì zuò shénme gōngzuò de?
What kind of work do you do? (polite)
我是做设计的，你呢？
Wǒ shì zuò shèjì de, nǐ ne?
I'm in design; how about you?
你在哪儿上班？离家远吗？
Nǐ zài nǎr shàngbān? Lí jiā yuǎn ma?
Where do you work? Is it far from home?