Meaning of 值班
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- to work a shift
- on duty
How to use 值班
值班 describes taking your turn on duty, often at night, on weekends, or on holidays, in places like hospitals, offices, schools, or police stations. It works as a verb and can also describe a person, as in 值班医生 (zhíbān yīshēng, the doctor on duty). Example: 今天晚上我值班。(Jīntiān wǎnshang wǒ zhíbān.) I am on duty tonight.
值 (zhí) appears in 价值 (jiàzhí, value) and 值得 (zhídé, to be worth), and 班 (bān) is a shift or group, as in 上班 (shàngbān). Picture your shift as the time your work is worth something to the team, so 值班 means you are the one on duty.
Common mistake: Learners often use 值班 for any normal workday, but 上班 (shàngbān) is the everyday word for going to work, while 值班 means taking a scheduled turn on duty. Also keep the second tone on 值 (zhí) and do not confuse it with 直 (zhí, straight), which looks similar but lacks the person radical 亻.
值班 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
值 zhí · value · 10 strokes
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班 bān · team · 10 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 值班.
| 上班 | shàngbān | to go to work; to be on duty |
| 下班 | xiàbān | to finish work; to get off work; next service (train, bus etc) |
| 班长 | bānzhǎng | class monitor; squad leader |
| 值得 | zhídé | worth the money; to merit; to deserve; to be worth (doing sth) |
| 价值 | jiàzhí | value; worth; (ethical, cultural etc) values |
| 班级 | bānjí | class (group of students); grade (in school) |
| 航班 | hángbān | (scheduled) flight; (scheduled) sailing |
| 加班 | jiābān | to work overtime |
| 培训班 | péixùnbān | training class |
| 西班牙语 | Xībānyáyǔ | Spanish language |
| 不值 | bùzhí | not worth |
| 上班族 | shàngbānzú | office workers (as social group) |
Questions about 值班
What does 值班 mean?
值班 (zhíbān) means "to work a shift; on duty".
How do you write 值班?
值班 is made of 2 characters: 值 (10 strokes), 班 (10 strokes). That is 20 strokes in total.
Is 值班 an HSK word?
Yes. 值班 is on the HSK 5 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say whose turn it is to be on duty?
You can say 今天谁值班？(Jīntiān shéi zhíbān?) for Who is on duty today? To say it is your turn, use 轮到我值班了 (lúndào wǒ zhíbān le).
Can I put a time length inside 值班?
Yes. 值班 is a verb plus object word, so time words can go in the middle, as in 值了一夜班 (zhí le yí yè bān), was on duty all night. Saying 值班了一夜 is also heard in casual speech.