Skip to content
Mythic Mandarin

Work and life in balance

HSK 4 Unit 6: Working life · Lesson 4 of 5 · About 22 minutes

Preview version — Chinese review in progress.

Your mission: By the end of this lesson, you can talk about efficiency, wasting time, holidays and keeping a reasonable balance between work and life.

Warm-up: do you remember?

Two quick questions from earlier lessons. Recalling before you learn makes the new material stick.

  1. Meaning

    What does 收入 mean?

    1. income
    2. to keep someone company
    3. to contact, contact
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, income.

    收入 (shōurù) means income.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “contract”?

    1. 分享
    2. 合同
    3. 宠物
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 合同.

    “contract” is 合同 (hétong).

  3. Listening

    From an earlier unit. Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    联系 liánxì

    1. to treat as, to regard as
    2. to work as, to serve as
    3. to contact, contact
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, to contact, contact.

    You heard 联系 (liánxì): to contact, contact.

New words

  • 平衡pínghéngbalance, balanced
  • 效率xiàolǜefficiency
  • 假期jiàqīholiday, vacation
  • 浪费làngfèito waste
  • 合理hélǐreasonable, sensible

Balance and efficiency

平衡 (pínghéng) is balance; 效率 (xiàolǜ) is efficiency; 浪费 (làngfèi) is to waste; 合理 (hélǐ) is reasonable.

  • 工作和生活要平衡。

    Gōngzuò hé shēnghuó yào pínghéng.

    Work and life need to be in balance.

  • 加班太多，效率不一定高。

    Jiābān tài duō, xiàolǜ bù yídìng gāo.

    Working lots of overtime isn't necessarily efficient.

  • 别浪费时间！

    Bié làngfèi shíjiān!

    Don't waste time!

  • 我们要合理安排时间。

    Wǒmen yào hélǐ ānpái shíjiān.

    We should plan our time sensibly.

Characters

Open a character to see how it is written, stroke by stroke, with its meanings and words.

Always working

Chen Jing worries about her colleague Li Ming.

Listen first

Play the whole conversation and answer the questions before you open the transcript.

Helpful words: 有道理 yǒu dàoli to make sense, to have a point; 白天 báitiān daytime; 反而 fǎn'ér on the contrary

  1. Listening

    Listen first. What does Chen Jing say is the real problem?

    1. low efficiency
    2. too much work
    3. a bad manager
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, low efficiency.

    问题不是工作多，是效率不高.

  2. Listening

    Why does Li Ming work late every day, in his own words?

    1. He likes working at night.
    2. He doesn't plan his day sensibly.
    3. His boss makes him stay late.
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, He doesn't plan his day sensibly..

    白天的时间安排得不合理.

Show the transcript
Pinyin
Translation

  1. 陈静

    李明Lǐ Míng，你nǐ连lián周末zhōumò都dōu在zài加班jiābān，这样zhèyàng不bù平衡pínghéng。

    Li Ming, you even work at weekends. That's not balanced.

  2. 李明

    没Méi办法bànfǎ，工作gōngzuò太tài多duō了le。

    I've got no choice, there's too much work.

  3. 陈静

    我Wǒ觉得juéde问题wèntí不bú是shì工作gōngzuò多duō，是shì效率xiàolǜ不bù高gāo。你Nǐ每天měitiān开会kāihuì浪费làngfèi了le很hěn多duō时间shíjiān。

    I think the problem isn't the amount of work, it's efficiency. You waste a lot of time in meetings every day.

  4. 李明

    你Nǐ说shuō得de有道理yǒu dàoli。我Wǒ之所以zhīsuǒyǐ每天měitiān加班jiābān，是shì因为yīnwèi白天báitiān的de时间shíjiān安排ānpái得de不bù合理hélǐ。

    You have a point. The reason I work late every day is that I don't plan my day sensibly.

  5. 陈静

    对Duì。还Hái有yǒu，你nǐ已经yǐjīng一yì年nián没méi休假xiūjià了le，下个xiàge月yuè的de假期jiàqī一定yídìng要yào用yòng。

    Right. And you haven't had a holiday for a year. Make sure you use next month's holiday.

Speak: listen, record, compare

Listen to each model, record yourself, then play both and compare: the rhythm, the tones, the vowels. No automatic score: your ear is the judge.

  • 我觉得问题不是工作多，是效率不高。你每天开会浪费了很多时间。

    Wǒ juéde wèntí bú shì gōngzuò duō, shì xiàolǜ bù gāo. Nǐ měitiān kāihuì làngfèi le hěn duō shíjiān.

    I think the problem isn't the amount of work, it's efficiency. You waste a lot of time in meetings every day.

  • 李明，你连周末都在加班，这样不平衡。

    Lǐ Míng, nǐ lián zhōumò dōu zài jiābān, zhèyàng bù pínghéng.

    Li Ming, you even work at weekends. That's not balanced.

  • 对。还有，你已经一年没休假了，下个月的假期一定要用。

    Duì. Hái yǒu, nǐ yǐjīng yì nián méi xiūjià le, xiàge yuè de jiàqī yídìng yào yòng.

    Right. And you haven't had a holiday for a year. Make sure you use next month's holiday.

Practice

  1. Meaning

    What does 平衡 mean?

    1. (for vehicles)
    2. balance, balanced
    3. anyway, in any case
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, balance, balanced.

    平衡 (pínghéng) means balance, balanced.

  2. Characters

    Which word means “efficiency”?

    1. 效率
    2. 合理
    3. 正式
    Show the answer

    Answer: A, 效率.

    “efficiency” is 效率 (xiàolǜ).

  3. Pinyin

    How do you read 假期 (holiday, vacation)?

    1. jiàqí
    2. jiàqī
    3. jiàqǐ
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, jiàqī.

    假期 is read jiàqī. Check the tone mark on every syllable.

  4. Listening

    Listen. What does the word mean?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    浪费 làngfèi

    1. people (in general)
    2. luck
    3. to waste
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, to waste.

    You heard 浪费 (làngfèi): to waste.

  5. Your turn

    Recall: type the Chinese for “reasonable, sensible” (characters or pinyin).

    Show the answer

    Answer: 合理

    “reasonable, sensible” is 合理 (hélǐ).

  6. Listening

    Listen. Which sentence did you hear?

    Cannot listen? Read it instead

    对。还有，你已经一年没休假了，下个月的假期一定要用。 Duì. Hái yǒu, nǐ yǐjīng yì nián méi xiūjià le, xiàge yuè de jiàqī yídìng yào yòng.

    1. Li Ming, you even work at weekends. That's not balanced.
    2. Right. And you haven't had a holiday for a year. Make sure you use next month's holiday.
    3. I've got no choice, there's too much work.
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, Right. And you haven't had a holiday for a year. Make sure you use next month's holiday..

    You heard 对。还有，你已经一年没休假了，下个月的假期一定要用。 (Duì. Hái yǒu, nǐ yǐjīng yì nián méi xiūjià le, xiàge yuè de jiàqī yídìng yào yòng.): Right. And you haven't had a holiday for a year. Make sure you use next month's holiday.

  7. Grammar

    Which sentence means The problem isn't the work, it's efficiency?

    1. 问题是工作不是效率。
    2. 不是问题工作，效率是。
    3. 问题不是工作，是效率。
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, 问题不是工作，是效率。.

    问题不是工作，是效率。: 不是 A，是 B: not A but B.

  8. Fill the gap

    Complete: Don't waste time!

    别＿＿时间！

    1. 平衡
    2. 浪费
    3. 合理
    Show the answer

    Answer: B, 浪费.

    别浪费时间: don't waste time.

  9. Reading

    Read: 我以前每天工作十二个小时，效率很低。现在我每天只工作八个小时，但是安排得很合理，效率反而高了。 What changed?

    1. He works longer hours, but more slowly.
    2. He stopped planning his day.
    3. He works fewer hours but more efficiently.
    Show the answer

    Answer: C, He works fewer hours but more efficiently..

    只工作八个小时，但是安排得很合理.

  10. Your turn

    Type the Chinese for to plan time sensibly

    Show the answer

    Answer: 合理安排时间

    合理安排时间: to plan time sensibly.

Your balance

Talk about your own work-life balance out loud, in six sentences.

  1. How many hours you work and whether you work late.
  2. What wastes your time.
  3. How you could plan your time more sensibly.

Sentence frames

  • 我觉得我的工作和生活＿＿。

    Wǒ juéde wǒ de gōngzuò hé shēnghuó ＿＿.

    I think my work and life are ... (balanced or not).

  • 我要合理安排＿＿。

    Wǒ yào hélǐ ānpái ＿＿.

    I need to plan ... sensibly.

Record your attempt (three and a half minutes at most) and listen back:

Review and finish

Can you do this? If a line feels shaky, go back to that part before you move on.

  • I can talk about balance, efficiency and wasting time.
  • I can give advice about holidays and planning.

Review works best spaced out: answer these exercises again tomorrow, then after a few days. Your progress is saved in this browser.

Completing records that you finished the lesson. Mastery is separate: it grows as reviews bring the exercises back and you answer them correctly.

Next lesson: Starting again: a career change