你在做什么工作？

Learning Chinese: How to Ask "What Do You Do for Work?" in Chinese

Chinese Characters: 你做什么工作？
Pinyin: Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?
Pronunciation: ni3 zuo4 shen2me gong1zuo4
English Translation: What do you do for work?

Usage:

"你做什么工作？ (Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?)" is a common question used to ask someone about their occupation or profession. It can be used in both formal and informal settings.

Example:

Chinese: 你做什么工作？
Pinyin: Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?
English: What do you do for work?

Variations:

There are a few variations of "你做什么工作？ (Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?)" that you may hear:

你职业是什么？ (Nǐ zhíyè shì shénme?)
你干什么工作？ (Nǐ gàn shénme gōngzuò?)
你工作是什么？ (Nǐ gōngzuò shì shénme?)
Tips for Learning:

Practice saying "你做什么工作？ (Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?)" out loud to improve your pronunciation.
Listen to native Chinese speakers asking about someone's occupation to get a sense of the natural rhythm and intonation.
Use "你做什么工作？ (Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?)" in your daily conversations to practice using it in context.
Additional Notes:

"你做什么工作？ (Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?)" is a polite way to ask someone about their occupation.
If you want to be more specific, you can add the word "在 (zài)" before the company or organization name, e.g., "你做什么工作？ - 我在谷歌工作 (Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò? - Wǒ zài Gǔgē gōngzuò)" means "What do you do for work? - I work at Google."
You can also use "你职业是什么？ (Nǐ zhíyè shì shénme?)" to ask someone about their profession, e.g., "你职业是什么？ - 我是医生 (Nǐ zhíyè shì shénme? - Wǒ shì yīshēng)" means "What is your profession? - I am a doctor."