Meaning of 办公室
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- office; business premises
How to use 办公室
办公室 is the everyday word for an office room, whether at a company, school, or government building. It often follows a place or person, as in 老师办公室 (lǎoshī bàngōngshì) teacher's office. Example: 我在办公室工作。(Wǒ zài bàngōngshì gōngzuò.) I work in an office.
Break it into three parts: 办 (bàn) means to handle or do, 公 (gōng) means public or official, and 室 (shì) means room. A room where you handle official business is an office.
Common mistake: Learners often say 办公室 when they mean the whole company, but the company is 公司 (gōngsī) and 办公室 is the room or work space. Also watch the tone on 办 (bàn): it is fourth tone, not third like 半 (bàn) is not confused in tone but in meaning, so do not write 半 (half) by mistake.
办公室 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.
办 bàn · to take care of · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
公 gōng · public · 4 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
室 shì · room · 9 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Related words
Words that share a character with 办公室.
| 怎么办 | zěnme bàn | what's to be done |
| 公司 | gōngsī | company; firm; corporation |
| 办法 | bànfǎ | way of handling sth; means; measure; (practical) solution to a problem |
| 公平 | gōngpíng | fair; impartial |
| 公园 | gōngyuán | park (for public recreation) |
| 公里 | gōnglǐ | kilometer |
| 公路 | gōnglù | highway; road |
| 公斤 | gōngjīn | kilogram (kg) |
| 教室 | jiàoshì | classroom |
| 公交车 | gōngjiāochē | public transport vehicle; town bus |
| 公共汽车 | gōnggòng qìchē | bus |
| 实验室 | shíyànshì | laboratory |
Questions about 办公室
What does 办公室 mean?
办公室 (bàngōngshì) means "office; business premises" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 办公室?
办公室 is made of 3 characters: 办 (4 strokes), 公 (4 strokes), 室 (9 strokes). That is 17 strokes in total.
Is 办公室 an HSK word?
Yes. 办公室 is on the HSK 2 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 办公室 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 办公室 is written 辦公室.
What does 办公 mean on its own?
办公 (bàngōng) is a verb meaning to do office work or handle official business. For example, 他在家办公 (tā zài jiā bàngōng) means he works from home. Adding 室 turns it into the place where this happens.
Can 办公室 refer to a department, not just a room?
Yes. In organizations, 办公室 can name an administrative unit, such as 校长办公室 (xiàozhǎng bàngōngshì) the principal's office. Context tells you whether it means the physical room or the department.