Ways to say it
| Japanese | Romanization (Wiktionary) | IPA |
|---|---|---|
| 仕事 | shigoto | [ɕiɡo̞to̞] (narrow) |
| 労働 | rōdō | [ɾo̞ːdo̞ː] (narrow) |
| 職業 | shokugyō | [ɕo̞kɯ̟ɡʲo̞ː] (narrow) |
| ワーク | wāku | [β̞a̠ːkɯ̟] (narrow) |
The term 仕事 is used to describe both the abstract concept of work and the specific tasks a person is currently performing. If you want to express the action of working, you can use the verb 働く. For a casual or part-time job, the informal phrase バイトする is commonly used.
Which one should you use?
仕事 is the most common, everyday word for 'work' or 'job' used in conversation. In contrast, 労働 refers specifically to 'labor' in a physical, economic or legal sense rather than a specific person's job. 職業 is used to refer to one's 'occupation' or 'profession' in formal or administrative contexts, such as when filling out an application form.
Related words
How does it change in a sentence?
While 仕事 is a noun, 働く is the corresponding verb meaning 'to work' or 'to labor'. You can also create the phrase 仕事中 by adding the suffix 中 (chū) to 仕事, which means being 'in the middle of work' or 'at work'.
How do you pronounce it?
shigoto
Did you know?
- In high-pressure corporate environments, the term 社畜 (shachiku) combines the words for 'company' and 'livestock' to describe an employee who is utterly devoted to their work.
- While 仕事 refers to the job, Japanese people often use the phrase お疲れ様です (otsukaresama desu) to acknowledge someone's work, which literally means 'you are tired'.
- The word バイト (baito) is a shortened version of the German word 'Arbeit', which means 'work'.
Examples in context
- 仕事はどう？How's work?This sentence shows how to ask about the status of someone's work using 仕事.Tatoeba #3488321 by arnab, translation #245394 by CK
- 仕事に戻れ！Get back to work!This sentence uses 仕事 to give a command to return to work.Tatoeba #8613815 by small_snow, translation #2006521 by Spamster
- 仕事中なの？Are you at work?This sentence uses 仕事 to ask if someone is currently at work.Tatoeba #8728265 by bunbuku, translation #4401103 by CK
- 私は毎日働いています。I work every day.
- 彼は銀行で働いています。He works at a bank.
- 私は大学で教師として勤めています。I work as a teacher at the university.
- 彼女は一流企業で勤めています。She works at a top-tier company.
- 今日はバイトが入っているから、遊べないよ。I can't hang out today because I have work.
- 昨日はマジでバイトしんどかった。Yesterday, working part-time was seriously tough.
- 843 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Hime and Hiroto are talking about their daily routines.
- 陽葵 Himari大翔さんは、どんな仕事をしていますか？Hiroto-san wa, donna shigoto o shite imasu ka?What kind of work do you do, Hiroto?
- 大翔 HirotoIT系の仕事をしています。Aiti-kei no shigoto o shite imasu.I work in IT.
- 陽葵 Himariそれは大変そうですね。Sore wa taihen sou desu ne.That sounds tough.
- 大翔 Hirotoでも、この仕事が大好きです。Demo, kono shigoto ga daisuki desu.But I love this job.
Sources
- Wiktionary, “work” translations and entries 仕事, 労働, 職業, ワーク, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
