Office Chinese is a whole dialect: polite hedges, playful sarcasm, and metaphors sharp enough to cut a meeting short. This guide collects high-yield Traditional Chinese work idioms and slang with pinyin right after and a clear English gloss. Use them in chats, standups, and emails without sounding like a textbook.
How This Guide Works
Each entry shows: Traditional → pinyin → concise meaning → one natural example.
Busy, Crunch, And Deadlines
加班到爆
jiā bān dào bào
Working crazy overtime.
這週專案太多，我們可能加班到爆。
zhè zhōu zhuān’àn tài duō, wǒmen kěnéng jiābān dào bào
Too many projects this week—we’ll probably be working like mad.
爆肝
bào gān
“Exploding liver” = grinding unsustainably.
別再爆肝了，先把優先順序排好。
bié zài bào gān le, xiān bǎ yōu xiān shùn xù pái hǎo
Stop grinding—set priorities first.
救火
jiù huǒ
Firefighting urgent issues.
我今天都在救火，簡報只能明天做。
wǒ jīn tiān dōu zài jiù huǒ, jiǎn bào zhǐ néng míng tiān zuò
I’ve been firefighting all day; the deck has to wait.
趕進度
gǎn jìn dù
Push to catch up on progress.
為了週五上線，我們得再趕進度。
wèi le zhōu wǔ shàng xiàn, wǒmen děi zài gǎn jìn dù
To launch Friday, we need to push the schedule.
卡關
kǎ guān
Stuck at a “gate.”
後端卡關了，等資安審查過再說。
hòu duān kǎ guān le, děng zī’ān shěn chá guò zài shuō
Backend is stuck; we’ll move after security review passes.
Meetings, Emails, And Polite Moves
對齊
duì qí
Align.
先對齊需求，再談時程。
xiān duì qí xū qiú, zài tán shí chéng
Let’s align on requirements, then discuss timeline.
踩煞車
cǎi shā chē
Hit the brakes; pause a plan.
回饋很多，這波先踩煞車。
huí kuì hěn duō, zhè bō xiān cǎi shā chē
Lots of feedback—let’s pause this round.
丟球／接球
diū qiú / jiē qiú
Hand off / pick up a task.
我先丟球，明天由你接球收尾。
wǒ xiān diū qiú, míng tiān yóu nǐ jiē qiú shōu wěi
I’ll hand it off; you pick it up tomorrow and wrap.
丟一個 tentative
diū yí gè tentative
Float a tentative time/idea.
我先丟一個 tentative，大家看行不行。
wǒ xiān diū yí gè tentative, dà jiā kàn xíng bù xíng
I’ll float a tentative—see if it works.
開個小窗
kāi ge xiǎo chuāng
Open a small time window = quick sync.
下午三點開個小窗，十分鐘對齊要點。
xià wǔ sān diǎn kāi ge xiǎo chuāng, shí fēn zhōng duì qí yào diǎn
Let’s hop on a 10-min sync at 3 pm.
Management, Scope, And Reality Checks
畫大餅
huà dà bǐng
“Draw a big pie” = sell a dreamy vision.
先別畫大餅，先把 MVP 做出來。
xiān bié huà dà bǐng, xiān bǎ MVP zuò chū lái
Skip the grand vision—ship the MVP first.
灌迷湯
guàn mí tāng
Over-compliment to butter someone up.
先別對客戶灌迷湯，數字要說話。
xiān bié duì kè hù guàn mí tāng, shù zì yào shuō huà
Don’t butter the client up; let numbers talk.
踩雷
cǎi léi
Step on a landmine = hit a sensitive issue/bad choice.
這個梗可能會踩雷，先改說法。
zhè ge gěng kě néng huì cǎi léi, xiān gǎi shuō fǎ
That joke may be risky—let’s rephrase.
背鍋
bēi guō
Carry the pot = take the blame.
這次是我決策，我來背鍋。
zhè cì shì wǒ jué cè, wǒ lái bēi guō
This decision was mine—I’ll take the heat.
扛責／扛 KPI
káng zé / káng K P I
Carry responsibility/KPIs.
流量我扛，但內容節奏要配合。
liú liàng wǒ káng, dàn nèi róng jié zòu yào pèi hé
I’ll carry traffic targets, but content cadence must match.
Success, Failure, And Everything Between
穩穩的
wěn wěn de
Solid, steady.
這版穩穩的，可以上線。
zhè bǎn wěn wěn de, kě yǐ shàng xiàn
This version is solid—ship it.
翻車
fān chē
Crash and burn.
昨晚佈署整個翻車，早上回滾了。
zuó wǎn bù shǔ zhěng gè fān chē, zǎo shang huí gǔn le
Last night’s deploy crashed; we rolled back this morning.
打掉重練
dǎ diào chóng liàn
Scrap and start over.
架構不對，打掉重練比較快。
jià gòu bú duì, dǎ diào chóng liàn bǐ jiào kuài
Wrong architecture—starting over is faster.
撞牆期
zhuàng qiáng qí
Hitting the wall period.
成長撞牆期了，換一組關鍵字試試。
chéng zhǎng zhuàng qiáng qí le, huàn yì zǔ guān jiàn zì shì shì
Growth hit a wall—try a new keyword set.
吃下來
chī xià lái
“Swallow it” = accept/take on.
這單我吃下來，但時程要多一週。
zhè dān wǒ chī xià lái, dàn shí chéng yào duō yì zhōu
I’ll take this on, but I need one more week.
Workload, Burnout, And Boundaries
被會議綁架
bèi huì yì bǎng jià
Kidnapped by meetings.
整個早上被會議綁架，下午再補進度。
zhěng gè zǎo shàng bèi huì yì bǎng jià, xià wǔ zài bǔ jìn dù
Meetings ate my morning; I’ll catch up this afternoon.
沉沒成本
chén mò chéng běn
Sunk cost; also used casually to warn against stubbornness.
別被沉沒成本綁住，該停就停。
bié bèi chén mò chéng běn bǎng zhù, gāi tíng jiù tíng
Don’t cling to sunk costs—stop when needed.
補一口氣
bǔ yì kǒu qì
Catch a breath.
先補一口氣，十點再戰。
xiān bǔ yì kǒu qì, shí diǎn zài zhàn
Catch your breath; back at it at ten.
Quality: Easy Wins And Tough Tasks
小確幸
xiǎo què xìng
Tiny, certain joy = small win.
流程順一點就是小確幸。
liú chéng shùn yì diǎn jiù shì xiǎo què xìng
A smoother flow is a small, certain joy.
硬仗
yìng zhàng
A tough battle.
這個客製需求是一場硬仗。
zhè ge kè zhì xū qiú shì yì chǎng yìng zhàng
This custom request is a hard fight.
省力解
shěng lì jiě
Low-effort solution.
先上省力解，數據驗證再補強。
xiān shàng shěng lì jiě, shù jù yàn zhèng zài bǔ qiáng
Ship the easy win, strengthen after data confirms.
Approvals, Decisions, And Risk
拍板
pāi bǎn
Make the call.
預算上限由主管拍板。
yù suàn shàng xiàn yóu zhǔ guǎn pāi bǎn
The manager will make the budget call.
背書
bèi shū
Give cover/endorsement.
要對外公布，先請法務背書。
yào duì wài gōng bù, xiān qǐng fǎ wù bèi shū
Before announcing, get Legal’s sign-off.
踩點
cǎi diǎn
Scout/check the site or flow.
週三先踩點，週五正式拍攝。
zhōu sān xiān cǎi diǎn, zhōu wǔ zhèng shì pāi shè
Scout Wednesday, shoot Friday.
Project Status And Scope Words
切需求
qiē xū qiú
Slice requirements.
先切需求，避免一口吃太多。
xiān qiē xū qiú, bì miǎn yì kǒu chī tài duō
Slice the scope to avoid biting off too much.
串一下
chuàn yí xià
Hook things up briefly / sync stakeholders.
PM 跟工程師串一下再回報。
PM gēn gōng chéng shī chuàn yí xià zài huí bào
PM and devs, sync quickly then report back.
場上／場下
chǎng shàng / chǎng xià
On stage (official) / off stage (private).
這件先場下溝通，明天場上定案。
zhè jiàn xiān chǎng xià gōu tōng, míng tiān chǎng shàng dìng’àn
Discuss offline first; finalize in tomorrow’s meeting.
Mini Dialogues (Meeting-Ready)
A：廣告成效下滑，我們怎麼救
A: guǎng gào chéng xiào xià huá, wǒmen zěn me jiù
Ad performance is down—how do we save this
B：先別畫大餅，先救火：關鍵字重配、素材 A/B。
B: xiān bié huà dà bǐng, xiān jiù huǒ: guān jiàn zì zhòng pèi, sù cái A/B
Skip the grand plan—put out fires: reallocate keywords and A/B the creatives.
A：後端卡關，要不要踩煞車
A: hòu duān kǎ guān, yào bú yào cǎi shā chē
Backend’s stuck—pause
B：不踩，但切需求，先上省力解。
B: bù cǎi, dàn qiē xū qiú, xiān shàng shěng lì jiě
Don’t pause—slice scope and ship an easy win.
Polite Email Lines That Sound Native
先對齊一下彼此的預期。
xiān duì qí yí xià bǐ cǐ de yù qī
Let’s align on expectations first.
為避免踩雷，這段文案再潤一下。
wèi bì miǎn cǎi léi, zhè duàn wén’àn zài rùn yí xià
To avoid missteps, let’s polish this copy.
時間允許的話，今天我來接球收尾。
shí jiān yǔn xǔ de huà, jīn tiān wǒ lái jiē qiú shōu wěi
If time allows, I’ll pick this up and close today.
Common Mix-Ups (Quick Fixes)
加班到爆 vs. 爆肝
jiā bān dào bào vs. bào gān
“Working like crazy” vs “self-destructive grind.” The second is stronger; don’t use it lightly to your manager.
翻車 vs. 失敗
fān chē vs. shī bài
“Crash and burn” (casual/slang) vs “fail” (neutral). Choose tone for audience.
拍板 vs. 背書
pāi bǎn vs. bèi shū
“Make the decision” vs “endorse/cover.” Different power levels.
Quick Reference Table
| Idiom | Pinyin | Meaning |
| 加班到爆 | jiā bān dào bào | working like crazy |
| 救火 | jiù huǒ | firefight urgent issues |
| 趕進度 | gǎn jìn dù | push the timeline |
| 卡關 | kǎ guān | stuck/blocker |
| 對齊 | duì qí | align |
| 丟球／接球 | diū qiú / jiē qiú | hand off / pick up |
| 畫大餅 | huà dà bǐng | oversell a vision |
| 背鍋 | bēi guō | take the blame |
| 翻車 | fān chē | crash and burn |
| 打掉重練 | dǎ diào chóng liàn | restart from scratch |
| 被會議綁架 | bèi huì yì bǎng jià | kidnapped by meetings |
| 省力解 | shěng lì jiě | low-effort solution |
| 拍板 | pāi bǎn | make the call |
| 背書 | bèi shū | endorse/sign off |
| 串一下 | chuàn yí xià | quick sync |
Five-Minute Practice Plan
Pick five idioms and turn them into a two-line standup update: one “problem” sentence and one “next step” sentence.
Write one polite email using 對齊、拍板、背書 in separate lines.
Record a 30-second voice note summarizing yesterday’s work using 趕進度／救火／穩穩的.
In your next meeting, replace “let’s discuss” with 開個小窗 or 對齊一下.
Yak-Style Closing Spark
Work talk is a team sport. With 對齊 to start the play, 丟球接球 to move it forward, and 拍板收尾 to finish, your Traditional Chinese will sound crisp, calm, and gloriously productive—even when you’re secretly 被會議綁架。