profesión
/pɾofeˈsjon/feminine
The Spanish word for "profession" is profesión.
profesión is a feminine noun meaning occupation. It is typically used to refer to a career that requires higher education.
Meaning: occupation (noun)
Which one should you use?
In Spanish, there is a distinction between a career and a manual trade. While profesión refers to a profession requiring higher education, the word oficio is used for a trade or a manual craft.
How does it change in a sentence?
The word profesión is a feminine noun. Its plural form is profesiones. To express the plural form of a specific job title, you generally add -s to the end of the title.
How do you pronounce it?
/pɾofeˈsjon/
Did you know?
- The word profesión shares its roots with the English word 'confess'. Both words descend from the Latin 'profiteri', which meant to declare or declare openly.
- In a professional setting, you might hear the term colegiado, which refers to a professional who is officially registered with their state's professional association.
- The word profesión is used in a religious sense to describe the act of taking permanent vows in a monastery or convent.
Examples in context
- Él es médico de profesión.He is a doctor by profession.This sentence shows how to use profesión to describe someone's job.Tatoeba #1492029 by marcelostockle, translation #286778 by CC
- ¿Cuál es la profesión de Tom?What's Tom's profession?This sentence uses profesión to ask about someone's occupation.Tatoeba #3006049 by marcelostockle, translation #2665366 by meerkat
- Enseñar inglés es su profesión.Teaching English is his profession.This sentence describes an activity as being someone's profesión.Tatoeba #594851 by clerval, translation #26219 by CK
- La señora López es ingeniera.Mrs. Lopez is an engineer.
- Él se dedica a la medicina.He works in the medical field.
- El médico / La médicaThe male doctor / the female doctor
- El ingeniero / La ingenieraThe male engineer / the female engineer
- Las ingenierasThe engineers
- PeriodistaJournalist
- Maestro/MaestraTeacher
- AstronautaAstronaut
- Científico/CientíficaScientist
- Escritor/EscritoraWriter
- Enfermero/EnfermeraNurse
- 10 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Mateo and Sofía are meeting for the first time at a party.
- MateoHola, Sofía. ¿Cuál es tu profesión?Hello, Sofía. What is your profession?
- SofíaSoy ingeniera. ¿Y tú, Mateo?I am an engineer. And you, Mateo?
- MateoYo soy periodista de profesión.I am a journalist by profession.
- Sofía¡Qué interesante! Me gusta tu profesión.How interesting! I like your profession.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “profession” translations and entries profesión, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries profesión, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
