Self-introduction at work: Introducing yourself to your new team

💬 姓 (xìng) is itself the verb "to be surnamed", so you don't need 是. Swap in any family name: 我姓李 "My surname is Li."

🇨🇳 Giving only your surname is a modest, slightly formal introduction. Colleagues will then call you by surname plus a title or prefix rather than your given name.

💬 小 (xiǎo) "little" before a surname makes a friendly nickname for someone younger or junior. 老 (lǎo) "old" before a surname is used for someone older: 老王.

💬 Put 就行 at the end of a sentence to mean "…is all you need" or "…will do": 给我水就行 "Just water is fine."

🇨🇳 Offering your 小+surname nickname tells a team you're happy to be treated as an approachable junior. It's a friendly signal at a first meeting and puts people at ease.

💬 The place comes before the action: 在 + place + verb. Compare English, which puts the place after: 我在北京工作 "I work in Beijing."

💬 Add 部 (bù) to a field to name a department: 人事部 "HR department", 财务部 "finance department".

💬 太 + adjective + 了 is the pattern for "so…!" when you're reacting: 太累了 "So tired!", 太贵了 "Too expensive!"

💬 Add 们 (men) after a person word to make it plural: 你们 "you all", 他们 "they". It's said with no tone, short and light.

💬 Literally "one department". 一个 can mean "the same" when two people share it: 我们是一个学校的 "We're from the same school."

💬 Putting 的 (de) at the end turns this into "we're of one department", a common way to say where someone belongs: 他是市场部的 "He's from marketing."

💬 Chinese verbs don't change for past time. A time word like 以前 at the front is what puts the question in the past. The same goes for 以后 for the future.

💬 做 + a field is the casual way to say what line of work you're in: 做销售 "work in sales", 做设计 "work in design".

💬 Verb + 得 (de) + description says how well something is done: 跑得很快 "runs fast", 写得很好 "writes well".

🇨🇳 Expect to hear this the moment you say even a few words. It's a kind, reflexive compliment, so answer modestly rather than with "thank you".

🇨🇳 Literally "where? where?", this is the traditional humble way to brush off a compliment. Today it sounds a bit old-fashioned and playful. Many younger people just say 没有没有 "not at all" or 谢谢 instead.

💬 还在 (hái zài) + verb means "still doing": 我还在吃饭 "I'm still eating."

🇨🇳 This is the standard closing line when you join a new team. It's humble and polite, and asks for patience and guidance. Saying it to coworkers or your boss lands as well-mannered, not needy.

🇨🇳 This is the usual warm reply to 请多关照, turning your request into a two-way promise. Say it back if a colleague says 请多关照 to you.

💬 Chinese often leaves out "if". A condition is simply stated first, and the result follows.

🇨🇳 This is a polite, natural way to end a chat and go back to your desk. 先 "first" softens it, so it doesn't sound like you're brushing the person off.

💬 先 (xiān) here doesn't really mean 'first' — it softens leaving, like 'I'll just go ahead and...'. Reuse it for any polite exit: 我先走了 "I'll head off now".

🇨🇳 This is the standard polite way to end a chat with a new colleague and get back to your desk. Saying you're going to be busy signals you're leaving for work, not because of them, so nobody feels brushed off.

💬 回头 (huí tóu) literally means "turn the head", but here it means "later on". You'll also hear it in 回头再说 "let's talk about it later".

🇨🇳 A casual, friendly goodbye between colleagues you'll see again soon, often the same day. It doesn't commit to a specific time, unlike 明天见 "see you tomorrow".