为什么中级中文还是说不出来？

What does 加班 (jiābān) mean in Chinese?

加班 (jiābān) means to work overtime or take an extra shift. The teacher in this clip uses it as a test case: if you don’t know the word yet, she says, describe it — “工作更长时间” (work longer hours). That workaround is the whole lesson: start with what you have, then reach for the precise word. 加班 is common enough that even early learners meet it quickly.

The compound breaks down neatly: 加 (jiā) means “add” or “increase,” and 班 (bān) originally meant a divided group or work shift. Put them together and you get “add a shift” — exactly what overtime means. Common phrases: 今晚又要加班 (“have to work overtime again tonight”), 你经常加班吗？(“Do you often work overtime?”). In China’s workplace culture 加班 is widely discussed, sometimes under the label 996 (9am–9pm, six days a week), making the word culturally loaded far beyond its literal meaning.