Chinese Word
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verb HSK 4
chū chāi
to go on a business trip · to travel for work

Meaning

出差 means to travel away from one's usual workplace for work-related purposes. It specifically refers to business travel, whether domestic or international, and implies temporary absence from one's home office.

Usage

Commonly used in professional contexts when someone needs to travel to another city or country for meetings, training, or other work duties. Often paired with destination prepositions like 到 or 去. The duration can range from a single day to several months.

Examples

  1. 01
    我下周要出差去上海，大概三天。
    Wǒ xià zhōu yào chū chāi qù Shànghǎi, dàgài sān tiān.
    I need to go on a business trip to Shanghai next week, probably for three days.
  2. 02
    他经常出差，一个月有一半时间在外地。
    Tā jīng cháng chū chāi, yī gè yuè yǒu yī bàn shíjiān zài wài dì.
    He frequently travels for business; half the month he's away from home.

Characters

Measure words

  • 次cì出了三次差

Common collocations

  • 出差去
    chū chāi qù
    to go on a business trip to
  • 出差在外
    chū chāi zài wài
    away on a business trip
  • 经常出差
    jīng cháng chū chāi
    to frequently travel for business
  • 出差回来
    chū chāi huí lái
    to return from a business trip

Antonyms

Origin

Literally 'go out on an errand/assignment.' The character 差 in this context means an official duty or task assigned by one's employer.

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