下班高峰
下班高峰时段地铁里非常拥挤。
The subway is extremely crowded during rush hour.
The period of heavy traffic or crowding on public transport or roads when people are leaving work.
由于下班高峰，我回家晚了一个小时。
I got home an hour late because of rush hour.
避开下班高峰，我们选择了地铁而不是开车。
To avoid rush hour, we chose the subway over driving.
Refers specifically to the evening rush hour when people finish work. The morning equivalent is '上班高峰' (morning rush hour).
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Distinguish from morning rush hour
下班高峰 refers to the evening rush hour when people leave work, while 上班高峰 (morning rush hour) refers to the morning commute to work.
Gold Rule
Context matters
下班高峰 is always tied to the end of the workday. Avoid using it for other peak traffic times unless they coincide with work hours.
Word Origin
下班 (xià bān) means 'to finish work' and 高峰 (gāo fēng) means 'peak' or 'rush'. The phrase combines these to describe the peak time when people leave work, causing traffic congestion.
Usage Notes
Commonly used in urban contexts to describe traffic or public transport conditions. Often paired with transportation-related verbs like '堵' (dǔ, 'to be congested') or '拥挤' (yōngjǐ, 'to be crowded').