How to Talk About Your Occupation

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Lesson Transcript

Welcome to Can-Do Chinese by ChineseClass101.com.

In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about your occupation in Chinese.

For example, "I’m an investor." is

我是投资商。(Wǒ shì tóuzī shāng.)

Two passengers, Anna Xu and Zheng Zhu , are seated next to each other on a plane to China.

Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components.

学生 (xuésheng)

"student"

学生

投资商 (tóuzī shāng)

"investor"

投资商

Listen to the conversation, and focus on Zheng ’s response.

Ready?

你是学生吗？(Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?)

我不是学生。我是投资商。(Wǒ búshì xuésheng. Wǒ shì tóuzī shāng.)

Once more with the English translation.

你是学生吗？(Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?)

“Are you a student?”

我不是学生。我是投资商。(Wǒ búshì xuésheng. Wǒ shì tóuzī shāng.)

“I'm not a student. I'm an investor.”

Let's break down the conversation.

Do you remember how Anna asks,

"Are you a student?"

你是学生吗？(Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?)

First is 你 (nǐ), "you." 你 . 你.

Next is 是 (shì). Here, it’s like the “are” in "are you." 是 . 是.

After this is 学生 (xuésheng), "student." 学生 . 学生.

Last is 吗 (ma). This is a question-marking particle. 吗. 吗.

This particle turns the sentence into a question.

All together, it's 你是学生吗？(Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?) Literally, “You are student?” But it translates as “Are you a student?”

你是学生吗？

Remember this question. You'll hear it again later.

Now, let's take a closer look at the response.

Do you remember how Zheng says,

"No, I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

我不是学生。我是投资商。(Wǒ búshì xuésheng. Wǒ shì tóuzī shāng.)

First Zheng says, 我不是学生。(Wǒ búshì xuésheng.) "I'm not a student." 我不是学生。

First is 我 (wǒ), "I." 我 . 我.

Next is 不是 (búshì). Here, "am not" as in “I am not.” 不是 . 不是.

This starts with 不 (bù), "not." It's used to form a negative. 不 . 不.

Next is 是 (shì). Here, it's "am" as in “I am not.” 是 (shì).

Together, 不是 (búshì). Here, it's "am not." 不是.

Pronunciation note: when 不 (bù) is followed by a fourth tone, its tone changes from the fourth tone to the second tone. Listen to the pronunciation again. 不是 (búshì). 不是.

The pronunciation differs from the pinyin, where you will still see two fourth tones.

All together 我不是 (wǒ búshì). "I am not." 我不是.

Next is 学生 (xuésheng), "student." 学生.

All together, 我不是学生。(Wǒ búshì xuésheng.) "I'm not a student." 我不是学生。

Finally, Zheng says,

我是投资商。 (Wǒ shì tóuzī shāng.). "I'm an investor." 我是投资商。

First is 我 (wǒ), "I." 我.

Next is 是 (shì). Here, it's "am" as in “I am.” 是.

After this is 投资商 (tóuzī shāng), "investor." 投资商 . 投资商.

All together, it’s 我不是学生。我是投资商。 (Wǒ búshì xuésheng. Wǒ shì tóuzī shāng.)

"I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

我不是学生。我是投资商。

The pattern is

我不是 (Wǒ búshì) {occupation}。我是 (Wǒ shì) {actual occupation}。

"I'm not {occupation}. I'm {actual occupation}."

我不是 {occupation}。我是 {actual occupation}。

Imagine you’re Emma Liu, a student. 学生

Zheng asks you if you’re a "teacher," 老师 (lǎoshī). 老师 . 老师.

Say

"I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."

Ready?

我不是老师。我是学生。(Wǒ búshì lǎoshī. Wǒ shì xuésheng.)

"I'm not a teacher. I'm a student."

我不是老师。我是学生。

Again, the key pattern is

我不是 (Wǒ búshì) {occupation}。我是 (Wǒ shì) {actual occupation}。

"I'm not {occupation}. I'm {actual occupation}."

我不是 {occupation}。我是 {actual occupation}。

Let’s look at some more examples.

Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speaker.

我不是学生。我是投资商。(Wǒ búshì xuésheng. Wǒ shì tóuzī shāng.)

“I'm not a student. I'm an investor.

我不是学生。我是投资商。

我不是老师。我是学生。(Wǒ búshì lǎoshī. Wǒ shì xuésheng.)

“I'm not a teacher. I'm a student.”

我不是老师。我是学生。

我不是医生。我是科研人员。(Wǒ bùshì yīshēng. Wǒ shì kēyán rényuán.)

“I'm not a doctor. I'm a scientist.”

我不是医生。我是科研人员。

我不是护士。我是医生。(Wǒ búshì hùshi. Wǒ shì yīshēng.)

“I'm not a nurse. I'm a doctor.”

我不是护士。我是医生。

我不是学生。我是老师。(Wǒ búshì xuésheng.Wǒ shì lǎoshī.)

“I'm not a student. I'm a teacher.

我不是学生。我是老师。

不是。我是咖啡师。(Búshì. Wǒ shì kāfēi shī.)

“No. I'm a barista.”

不是。我是咖啡师。

Did you notice how the last speaker starts by simply saying 不是 (búshì)?

不是。我是咖啡师。(Búshì. Wǒ shì kāfēi shī.)

“No. I’m a barista.” 不是。我是咖啡师。

When directly responding to someone's question, it’s often possible to simply answer 不是 (búshì), here it's “No.” 不是 . You are negating the incorrect statement, and can then state your actual occupation.

This pattern is

不是 (Búshì)。我是 (Wǒ shì) {occupation}。

"No. I'm {occupation}."

不是。我是 {occupation}。

You should be aware of this pattern, but for this lesson, we'll use the pattern

我不是 (Wǒ búshì) {occupation}。我是 (Wǒ shì) {actual occupation}。

"I'm not {occupation}. I'm {actual occupation}."

我不是 {occupation}。我是 {actual occupation}。

Let's review the key vocabulary.

老师 (lǎoshī). "Teacher." 老师 . 老师.

科研人员 (kēyán rényuán). "scientist." 科研人员. 科研人员.

护士 (hùshi). "Nurse." 护士. . 护士.

医生 (yīshēng). "Doctor." 医生 . 医生.

咖啡师 (kāfēi shī). "Barista." 咖啡师 . 咖啡师.

Let's review.

Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation.

Ready?

Do you remember how to say "investor"?

投资商 (tóuzī shāng)

And how to say “I”?

我 (wǒ)

Do you remember how Zheng says,

"I'm an investor."

我是投资商。(Wǒ shì tóuzī shāng.)

Do you remember how to say "student"?

学生 (xuésheng)

Do you remember how Zheng says,

"I'm not a student."

我不是学生。(Wǒ búshì xuésheng.)

And do you remember how Zheng says,

"I'm not a student. I'm an investor."

我不是学生。我是投资商。(Wǒ búshì xuésheng. Wǒ shì tóuzī shāng.)

Do you remember the question-marking particle?

吗 (ma)

And how to say “you”?

你 (nǐ)

Do you remember how Anna Xu asks,

"Are you a student?"

你是学生吗？(Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?)

Do you remember how to say "teacher"?

老师 (lǎoshī)

And how to say "scientist"?

科研人员 (kēyán rényuán)

Let's practice.

Imagine you're Anna Xu and you’re an engineer.

Respond to Zheng ’s question.

Ready?

你是老师吗？(Nǐ shì yīshēng ma?)

我不是老师。我是工程师。(Wǒ bùshì yīshēng. Wǒ shì kēyán rényuán.)

Listen again and repeat.

我不是老师。我是工程师。

Let's try another.

Imagine you're Yinru Li, and you’re a teacher.

Ready?

你是学生吗？(Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?)

我不是学生。我是老师。(Wǒ búshì xuésheng.Wǒ shì lǎoshī.)

Listen again and repeat.

我不是学生。我是老师。

Let's try one more.

Now, imagine you're Emma Liu , and you’re a student.

Ready?

你是投资商吗？(Nǐ shì tóuzīshāng ma?)

我不是投资商。我是学生。(Wǒ búshì tóuzīshāng. Wǒ shì xuésheng.)

Listen again and repeat.

我不是投资商。我是学生。

In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your occupation in Chinese. This plays an essential role in the larger skill of introducing yourself. Let’s review.

Do you remember how Anna Xu says,

"I'm Anna Xu."

我叫许安娜。(Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà.)

And do you remember how Anna Xu says

"Hello. My name is Anna Xu. Pleased to meet you."

你好。我叫许安娜。很高兴认识你。(Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Xǔ Ānnà. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

And do you remember how she says,

"I'm an American."

我是美国人。(Wǒ shì Měiguó rén.)

Do you remember how Zheng Zhu says,

"Where are you from?"

你是哪里人？ (Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

Do you remember how to say "America"?

美国 (Měiguó).

And how to say "American," as in an “American person"?

美国人 (Měiguó rén).

吗 (ma).

Do you remember how Anna asks,

"Are you a student?"

你是学生吗？(Nǐ shì xuésheng ma?)

Imagine you're Jack Jones , a student from London, and your home country is England.

Do you remember how to pronounce "Jack Jones" in Chinese?

杰克琼斯 (Jiékè Qióngsī)

Respond to Zheng Zhu 's self-introduction and follow-up questions.

Ready?

你好。我叫朱正。很高兴认识你。 (Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Zhū Zhèng. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

你好。我叫杰克琼斯。很高兴认识你。 (Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Jiékè Qióngsī. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

Listen again, and repeat.

你好。我叫杰克琼斯。很高兴认识你。 (Nǐ hǎo. Wǒ jiào Jiékè Qióngsī. Hěn gāoxìng rènshi nǐ.)

And do you remember how to say "England" in Chinese?

英国 (Yīngguó)

Now respond that you’re English.

你是哪里人？ (Nǐ shì nǎlǐ rén?)

我是英国人。 (Wǒ shì Yīngguó rén.)

Listen again and repeat.

我是英国人。 (Wǒ shì Yīngguó rén.)

Now, do you remember how to say "student" in Chinese?

学生 (xuésheng)

Respond that you're a student.

你是老师吗？(Nǐ shì lǎoshī ma?)

我不是老师。我是学生。(Wǒ búshì lǎoshī. Wǒ shì xuésheng.)

Listen again and repeat.

我不是老师。我是学生。

Well done! This is the end of the lesson and the Can Introduce Yourself unit of this course.

Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills.

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You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like.

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