A job ad (招聘启事, zhāopìn qǐshì) is written Chinese at its most compressed. It has no room for a spoken sentence — every word is chosen for economy and authority, so it becomes a showcase of the features that separate 书面语 (written register) from everyday speech: the classical nominalizer 者 that turns "people who…" into a single syllable, the formal ranges 以上 / 以内, the bookish "and" 及 / 以及, and a stack of written verbs (诚聘, 负责, 需要, 具备) you would rarely say out loud. This page reads a complete posting for an English teacher and unpacks why it sounds so unlike a conversation.
The job ad
因业务发展需要，本公司现诚聘英语教师两名。
yīn yèwù fāzhǎn xūyào, běn gōngsī xiàn chéngpìn Yīngyǔ jiàoshī liǎng míng
Owing to business growth, our company is now sincerely hiring two English teachers.
岗位职责：负责少儿英语教学及课程设计。
gǎngwèi zhízé: fùzé shào'ér Yīngyǔ jiàoxué jí kèchéng shèjì
Duties: responsible for children's English teaching and course design.
定期与家长沟通学生的学习情况。
dìngqī yǔ jiāzhǎng gōutōng xuésheng de xuéxí qíngkuàng
Communicate regularly with parents about students' progress.
任职要求：本科以上学历，英语专业者优先。
rènzhí yāoqiú: běnkē yǐshàng xuélì, Yīngyǔ zhuānyè zhě yōuxiān
Requirements: a bachelor's degree or above; English majors preferred.
需要两年以上教学经验，有相关证书者优先考虑。
xūyào liǎng nián yǐshàng jiàoxué jīngyàn, yǒu xiāngguān zhèngshū zhě yōuxiān kǎolǜ
Two or more years of teaching experience required; applicants with relevant certificates are given priority.
要求普通话标准，工作认真，有责任心。
yāoqiú Pǔtōnghuà biāozhǔn, gōngzuò rènzhēn, yǒu zérènxīn
Standard Mandarin required; must be conscientious and have a sense of responsibility.
薪资面议，月薪一万元以上，另有五险一金及带薪年假。
xīnzī miànyì, yuèxīn yíwàn yuán yǐshàng, lìng yǒu wǔ xiǎn yì jīn jí dàixīn niánjià
Salary negotiable, monthly pay 10,000 yuan and up, plus social insurance, housing fund and paid annual leave.
有意者请将个人简历发送至公司邮箱。
yǒuyì zhě qǐng jiāng gèrén jiǎnlì fāsòng zhì gōngsī yóuxiāng
Interested applicants, please send your résumé to the company email.
欢迎优秀人才加入我们的团队！
huānyíng yōuxiù réncái jiārù wǒmen de tuánduì
We welcome outstanding talent to join our team!
Grammar in this text
1. 者 — the nominalizer "one who…"
The ad is dotted with 者 (zhě): 英语专业者 ("one who majored in English"), 有相关证书者 ("one who has relevant certificates"), 有意者 ("one who is interested"). This little word is a classical residue — a survivor of Literary Chinese — and it means "the person / people who [do the preceding]." It nominalizes an entire verb phrase into a compact noun: 有经验者 = "those with experience," 报名者 = "registrants," 应聘者 = "applicants." Spoken Chinese would unpack every one of these with …的人: 有经验的人, 想报名的人. So 者 is precisely 书面语's tighter substitute for 的人 — one syllable instead of two words, and a formal ring besides. See the classical residue overview and the nominalizer 者.
凡是报名者，都可以免费参加讲座。
fánshì bàomíng zhě, dōu kěyǐ miǎnfèi cānjiā jiǎngzuò
Anyone who registers may attend the lecture free of charge. (formal)
想报名的人可以来找我。
xiǎng bàomíng de rén kěyǐ lái zhǎo wǒ
Anyone who wants to sign up can come find me. (informal)
2. 以上 / 以内 — the formal ranges
Requirements live and die by thresholds, and the ad states them with 以上 (yǐshàng, "and above") and its family: 本科以上学历 ("a bachelor's degree or above"), 两年以上经验 ("two years or more"). The set — 以上 / 以下 / 以内 / 以外 — attaches after the quantity, the reverse of English "over / under." A crucial detail Chinese leaves fuzzy: whether the boundary itself is included. In official usage 以上 is normally inclusive (三十人以上 counts thirty), so a job asking for 两年以上经验 will accept exactly two years. These ranges are markedly formal — in chat you would just say 三十多个 or 差不多两年. See formal ranges 以上 / 以内.
这个职位要求三年以上工作经验。
zhège zhíwèi yāoqiú sān nián yǐshàng gōngzuò jīngyàn
This position requires three or more years of work experience. (formal)
3. 及 / 以及 — the written "and"
To join the last two items in a formal list, the ad reaches for 及 (jí), not the spoken 和 (hé) or 跟 (gēn): 教学及课程设计, 五险一金及带薪年假. 及 and its longer form 以及 are the bookish conjunctions of notices, contracts and headlines — you write them but almost never say them. A useful rule of thumb: 及 tends to link the final, lesser item to what came before ("A, B 及 C"), giving a tidy, official cadence. For longer enumerations the ad could also close with 等 ("and so on"). See joining with 及 / 以及 and the broader set of formal connectives.
请提交个人简历及相关作品。
qǐng tíjiāo gèrén jiǎnlì jí xiāngguān zuòpǐn
Please submit your résumé and relevant work samples. (formal)
4. 要求, 需要, 负责 — stating duties and demands
Three verbs carry the ad's content. 负责 (fùzé) + task = "be responsible for" (负责教学及课程设计). 要求 (yāoqiú) = "to require," and 需要 (xūyào) = "to need"; both introduce a condition the applicant must meet, and both can drop their subject in this headline style (要求普通话标准 = "[we] require standard Mandarin"). Note how 要求 and 需要 nominalize cleanly too — 任职要求 is literally "the requirements for holding the post." These are the workhorse verbs of any specification. See 需要 'to need'.
这份工作需要经常出差，也要求会开车。
zhè fèn gōngzuò xūyào jīngcháng chūchāi, yě yāoqiú huì kāichē
This job requires frequent travel and also requires being able to drive. (formal)
5. The compressed 书面语 register
Every remaining choice pushes the same direction. 本公司 uses written 本 for "this / our"; 现 is the clipped written "now" (spoken 现在); 诚聘 ("sincerely invite to hire") is a set advertising verb; 与 is the formal coverb for "with" (spoken 跟/和), as in 与家长沟通; and the contact line packs a fully written disposal: 请将个人简历发送至公司邮箱 — where 将 is the bookish 把 and 至 the bookish 到, so the whole clause means "please send your résumé to the company email." Rendered in speech the same sentence would be 请把简历发到公司邮箱. This top-to-bottom formality is what a posting shares with the formal email; read them side by side against spoken vs written register.
Vocabulary
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 招聘启事 | zhāopìn qǐshì | job advertisement, recruitment notice |
| 诚聘 | chéngpìn | to sincerely recruit (advertising verb) |
| 岗位职责 | gǎngwèi zhízé | duties of the post |
| 负责 | fùzé | to be responsible for |
| 课程设计 | kèchéng shèjì | curriculum / course design |
| 任职要求 | rènzhí yāoqiú | requirements for the position |
| 学历 | xuélì | educational background, degree level |
| 本科 | běnkē | undergraduate, bachelor's |
| 者 | zhě | one who… (nominalizer) |
| 优先 | yōuxiān | to have priority, be preferred |
| 责任心 | zérènxīn | sense of responsibility |
| 薪资 / 月薪 | xīnzī / yuèxīn | salary / monthly salary |
| 面议 | miànyì | (salary) negotiable in person |
| 五险一金 | wǔ xiǎn yì jīn | the statutory insurance + housing-fund package |
| 简历 | jiǎnlì | résumé, CV |
| 及 / 以及 | jí / yǐjí | and (formal) |
Key Takeaways
- 者 is the written nominalizer "one who…" — it compresses 有经验的人 into 有经验者; it is classical residue, formal only.
- Thresholds use 以上 / 以内, placed after the quantity (本科以上); in official usage 以上 usually includes the boundary.
- 及 / 以及 is the bookish "and" of lists and notices; you write it, you rarely say it. 等 closes an open-ended list.
- 负责 + task, 要求, 需要 are the specification verbs, and they freely drop their subject in headline style.
- The whole register runs on word-swaps — 本 for 这个, 现 for 现在, 与 for 跟, 将…至 for 把…到 — the same 书面语 as the formal email.
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