办公室
office
bàngōngshì
What does 办公室 mean?
办公室 (bàngōngshì) is the standard word for 'office' — a physical room or space where people do administrative or professional work. It can refer to a small individual office (老师的办公室 'the teacher's office'), a shared workspace, or a government department. Two distinctions matter for English speakers: first, 办公室 is the ROOM, not the company; 'I work at Google' should use 公司 (gōngsī), not 办公室.
Second, in school contexts 办公室 specifically means the teacher's / staff office that students visit — it does not mean a classroom (which is 教室 jiàoshì). The word is built transparently: 办 (handle / do) + 公 (public / official affairs) + 室 (room) — literally 'room for handling official business.' Very common in work and school vocabulary.
Note: Neutral. Used for the physical room where someone works — a manager's office, a teacher's office, a government office. For a 'company' as a business entity, use 公司 (gōngsī) instead.
Character breakdown
to handle; to do
public; official
room
Memory hook: 办 + 公 + 室 = 'handle + public + room' = the room where you handle official business.
Measure word for 办公室
Example sentences
我的办公室在三楼。
Wǒ de bàngōngshì zài sān lóu.
My office is on the third floor.
neutral
老师让我去她的办公室。
Lǎoshī ràng wǒ qù tā de bàngōngshì.
The teacher asked me to come to her office.
neutral
他现在不在办公室。
Tā xiànzài bú zài bàngōngshì.
He's not in the office right now.
spoken
这间办公室很大，也很安静。
Zhè jiān bàngōngshì hěn dà, yě hěn ānjìng.
This office is large and very quiet.
neutral
Common phrases with 办公室
Synonyms
办公楼 is the whole office BUILDING, not a single room. Tell people 来我办公室 ('come to my office') for the room, but 在那栋办公楼 ('in that office building') for the whole structure.
Don't confuse 办公室 with
教室 is a 'classroom' where lessons happen. 办公室 is where teachers and staff work between lessons. Students mix these up in early school vocabulary.
公司 is a 'company' (the business). 办公室 is the office (the physical room). 我在一家公司上班 ('I work at a company') vs 我在办公室开会 ('I'm in the office in a meeting').
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