How to Say “What is new at work?” in Chinese
Small talk and travel · HSK 3
"What is new at work?" in Chinese is 工作上有什么新鲜事吗？ (gōngzuò shàng yǒu shénme xīnxiān shì ma?). A direct translation of 'what's new at work' sounds slightly stiff in Chinese; native speakers usually default to 最近工作怎么样? (how's work recently?), which covers the same ground. 新鲜事 (xīnxiān shì) literally means 'fresh matters' and implies gossip or interesting developments, so the full version works well among friends curious for stories.
Primary translation
工作上有什么新鲜事吗？
gōngzuò shàng yǒu shénme xīnxiān shì ma?
Traditional: 工作上有什麼新鮮事嗎？
Variants by register
Formal
最近工作上有什么进展吗？
zuìjìn gōngzuò shàng yǒu shénme jìnzhǎn ma?
Casual
最近工作怎么样？
zuìjìn gōngzuò zěnmeyàng?
When to use it
A direct translation of 'what's new at work' sounds slightly stiff in Chinese; native speakers usually default to 最近工作怎么样? (how's work recently?), which covers the same ground. 新鲜事 (xīnxiān shì) literally means 'fresh matters' and implies gossip or interesting developments, so the full version works well among friends curious for stories. In a more professional catch-up, 有什么进展 (any progress) is better. Note 工作上; the 上 (shàng) here means 'in the domain of,' a common pattern: 学习上, 生活上, 感情上.
Example sentences
好久不见，工作上有什么新鲜事吗？
Hǎojiǔ bú jiàn, gōngzuò shàng yǒu shénme xīnxiān shì ma?
Long time no see; anything new at work?
最近工作怎么样？还在那家公司吗？
Zuìjìn gōngzuò zěnmeyàng? Hái zài nà jiā gōngsī ma?
How's work lately? Still at that same company?
工作上没什么新鲜事，就是加班多。
Gōngzuò shàng méi shénme xīnxiān shì, jiùshì jiābān duō.
Nothing new at work, just a lot of overtime.