班
bān
team; class; grade
surname Ban; (military) squad; work shift; CL:個|个[ge4]; classifier for groups of people and scheduled transport vehicles
jade (王) + knife (刂) + jade (王) = splitting into matched groups
A knife splitting a slab of jade into two matched halves — the image of dividing into equal groups. From shared work and order comes the idea of a team, class, or shift.
我们班一共有三十个学生。
wǒ men bān yī gòng yǒu sān shí gè xué shēng。
Our class has thirty students in total.
他在工厂上夜班，每天工作八个小时。
tā zài gōng chǎng shàng yè bān，měi tiān gōng zuò bā gè xiǎo shí。
He works the night shift at the factory, eight hours every day.
Words with 班
速成班
sù chéng bān
intensive course
长班
cháng bān
(old) footman
顶班
dǐng bān
to take over sb else's job
领班
lǐng bān
supervisor
鲁班
lǔ bān
Lu Ban, legendary master craftsman, called the father of Chinese carpentry
三班倒
sān bān dǎo
three-shift system (work rostering)
上下班
shàng xià bān
to start and finish work
上班
shàng bān
to go to work
上班族
shàng bān zú
office workers (as social group)
上班时间
shàng bān shí jiān
working hours; office hours
下班
xià bān
to finish work; to get off work
中班
zhōng bān
middle shift; swing shift; early night shift