HSK 4 · Lesson 7这件事由你负责 You’ll be in charge of this

At the office: tasks, documents, deadlines. 按 / 按照 “according to”, 作为 “as”, 由 “by (someone)”, 按时 “on time”, 工作是工作，休息是休息 and …就是了 “just…, that’s all”.

Speed:Male voice:

Dialogues

A task

A
小李，明天我要去上海出差，公司的事由你负责。
Xiǎo Lǐ, míngtiān wǒ yào qù Shànghǎi chūchāi, gōngsī de shì yóu nǐ fùzé.
Xiao Li, I’m going to Shanghai on business tomorrow — you’ll be in charge here.
B
好的，王经理。有什么任务？
Hǎo de, Wáng jīnglǐ. Yǒu shénme rènwu?
All right, Manager Wang. What needs doing?
A
这份文件请你打印二十份，下午开会用。
Zhè fèn wénjiàn qǐng nǐ dǎyìn èrshí fèn, xiàwǔ kāihuì yòng.
Please print twenty copies of this document for the afternoon meeting.
B
打印机坏了，我去楼下复印吧。
Dǎyìnjī huài le, wǒ qù lóuxià fùyìn ba.
The printer’s broken — I’ll go downstairs and photocopy it.
A
行。另外，按照公司规定，这些材料要在三天以内交。
Xíng. Lìngwài, ànzhào gōngsī guīdìng, zhèxiē cáiliào yào zài sān tiān yǐnèi jiāo.
Fine. Also, under company rules these materials must be handed in within three days.
B
放心吧，我一定按时完成。
Fàngxīn ba, wǒ yídìng ànshí wánchéng.
Don’t worry, I’ll get it done on time.
A
辛苦你了！
Xīnkǔ nǐ le!
Thanks for your hard work!

Overtime again

A
你今天又加班了？
Nǐ jīntiān yòu jiābān le?
Working late again today?
B
是啊，经理安排的任务太多了，今天做不完。
Shì a, jīnglǐ ānpái de rènwu tài duō le, jīntiān zuò bu wán.
Yes, the manager gave me too many tasks — I can’t finish them today.
A
工作是工作，休息是休息，你也要注意身体。
Gōngzuò shì gōngzuò, xiūxi shì xiūxi, nǐ yě yào zhùyì shēntǐ.
Work is work and rest is rest — look after your health too.
B
我知道。明天上午的会，别忘了提醒我。
Wǒ zhīdào. Míngtiān shàngwǔ de huì, bié wàngle tíxǐng wǒ.
I know. Don’t forget to remind me about tomorrow morning’s meeting.
A
放心，我提醒你就是了。快回家吧！
Fàngxīn, wǒ tíxǐng nǐ jiùshì le. Kuài huí jiā ba!
Don’t worry, I’ll remind you, that’s all. Now go home!

New words

📝 Worksheet for this lesson

Grammar

1. 按 / 按照 “according to” and 作为 “as”

按照, and the shorter 按, mean “according to, in line with”: 按照公司规定 “under company rules”, 按顺序 “in order”. Hence 按时 “on schedule, on time”: 按时完成. 准时 is “punctual, exactly on time”: 准时开会. 作为 + person means “as, in the role of”: 作为经理，他很负责 “as a manager he’s very responsible”.

按照公司规定，这些材料要在三天以内交。
Ànzhào gōngsī guīdìng, zhèxiē cáiliào yào zài sān tiān yǐnèi jiāo.
Under company rules these materials must be handed in within three days.
作为经理，他很负责。
Zuòwéi jīnglǐ, tā hěn fùzé.
As a manager he’s very responsible.

2. 由 — “by whom, who is in charge”

task + 由 + person + verb

由 names the one who does or is responsible for a task; the task comes first: 这件事由你负责 “you are responsible for this”, 会议由王经理安排 “the meeting is arranged by Manager Wang”. It sounds official, like an instruction. 由 also means “from” — see lesson 9.

这件事由你负责。
Zhè jiàn shì yóu nǐ fùzé.
You are in charge of this.
会议由王经理安排。
Huìyì yóu Wáng jīnglǐ ānpái.
The meeting is arranged by Manager Wang.

3. 工作是工作，休息是休息 “work is work and rest is rest”

X 是 X，Y 是 Y

This keeps two things apart that shouldn’t be mixed: 工作是工作，休息是休息 “work is work and rest is rest”, 朋友是朋友，生意是生意 “friends are friends and business is business”.

工作是工作，休息是休息。
Gōngzuò shì gōngzuò, xiūxi shì xiūxi.
Work is work and rest is rest.

4. …就是了 “just…, that’s all”

就是了 at the end of a sentence reassures or closes the matter: “just do / I’ll do it, no need to worry”: 我提醒你就是了 “I’ll remind you, that’s all”, 有问题问我就是了 “if you have questions, just ask me”. It can sound a bit impatient: 你去就是了 “just go”.

有问题问我就是了。
Yǒu wèntí wèn wǒ jiùshì le.
If you have questions, just ask me.
你明天有空吗？
Nǐ míngtiān yǒu kòng ma?
Are you free tomorrow?

Exercises

1. Listen and choose the translation

  1. Answer
    会议推迟到下星期了。 Huìyì tuīchí dào xià xīngqī le. — The meeting has been put off till next week.

  2. Answer
    这个部门的负责人是谁？ Zhège bùmén de fùzérén shì shéi? — Who is in charge of this department?

  3. Answer
    经理通知我们明天开会。 Jīnglǐ tōngzhī wǒmen míngtiān kāihuì. — The manager told us there’s a meeting tomorrow.

  4. Answer
    他下个月正式上班。 Tā xià ge yuè zhèngshì shàngbān. — He officially starts work next month.

2. Choose the correct option

  1. “You are in charge of this”

    Answer
    这件事由你负责。
  2. ___学生，你应该按时交作业。

    Answer
    作为
  3. 我一定___时完成任务。

    Answer
    按
  4. “Friends are friends and business is business”

    Answer
    朋友是朋友，生意是生意。

3. Build the sentence

  1. You are in charge of this.

    Answer
    这件事由你负责。 Zhè jiàn shì yóu nǐ fùzé.
  2. I’ll definitely finish on time.

    Answer
    我一定按时完成。 Wǒ yídìng ànshí wánchéng.
  3. Tomorrow I’m going to Shanghai on business.

    Answer
    明天我要去上海出差。 Míngtiān wǒ yào qù Shànghǎi chūchāi.
  4. Don’t forget to remind me.

    Answer
    别忘了提醒我。 Bié wàngle tíxǐng wǒ.

4. Dialogue: answer as the speaker

You are speaker B. Pick the right reply and the conversation goes on.

A
这份文件下班以前能打印好吗？
Zhè fèn wénjiàn xiàbān yǐqián néng dǎyìn hǎo ma?
Can this document be printed before the end of the day?
B
没问题，我现在就去打印。
Méi wèntí, wǒ xiànzài jiù qù dǎyìn.
No problem, I’ll go and print it now.
A
另外，下星期的会议推迟了，你通知一下大家。
Lìngwài, xià xīngqī de huìyì tuīchí le, nǐ tōngzhī yíxià dàjiā.
Also, next week’s meeting has been postponed — please let everyone know.
B
好的。推迟到什么时候？
Hǎo de. Tuīchí dào shénme shíhou?
OK. Postponed till when?
A
还没定，定了我告诉你。
Hái méi dìng, dìngle wǒ gàosu nǐ.
It’s not fixed yet — I’ll tell you when it is.
B
好，那我先通知大家会议推迟了。
Hǎo, nà wǒ xiān tōngzhī dàjiā huìyì tuīchí le.
OK, then I’ll tell everyone for now that the meeting’s been postponed.

5. Translate into Chinese

  1. Manager Wang is in charge of this work.
    Answer
    这项工作由王经理负责。
  2. Under company rules you must come to work on time.
    Answer
    按照公司规定，上班要准时。
  3. Don’t worry, I’ll go, that’s all.
    Answer
    你放心，我去就是了。

💡 Did you know?: The office nap

Many Chinese offices and schools have 午休 wǔxiū, a lunch break that often lasts an hour or more. After lunch many employees nap right at their desks, heads on their arms, and some keep a folding bed under the desk. A daytime nap is nothing to be ashamed of in China — people believe a short sleep helps you work better.

Phrase audio — Microsoft speech synthesis (voices Xiaoxiao, Yunyang, Yunxi); syllables and some words — native recordings (audio-cmn, CC BY-SA).