soeng5 baan1上班
Jyutpingsoeng5 baan1
Yaleséuhng bāan
Definition
To go to work; to start work.
colloquialwork
How it's used
While 上班 is understood in Hong Kong, it is considered formal or written Mandarin style. Locals almost exclusively use 返工 in daily speech to describe the act of going to one's workplace. Using 上班 in a casual conversation can sound slightly stiff or like you are reading from a news report.
Related words
Common mistake
Learners often use 上班 because it appears in textbooks, but it sounds unnatural in casual settings. Stick to 返工 to sound like a local.
Grammar color guide
Noun
Verb
Adjective
Adverb
Pronoun
Classifier
Particle
Connector
Grammar guides
- Directional complementsThe small words added after a verb to show direction of movement, like up, down, out, in, and back. Common in everyday Cantonese.
- DemonstrativesThis and that with 呢 and 嗰, the personal pronouns, and how 哋 turns I, you, and he into we, you all, and they.
- Resultative complementsSticking a result word onto a verb to show how it turned out, like eat until full or look and find. A productive everyday pattern.
