tu profesión
/tu pɾofesjon/from spelling rules
In Spanish, 'your profession' is translated as tu profesión.
The phrase refers to the type of work that a person is trained for and performs as a career. While profesión implies a level of academic training, you might use oficio if referring to a person's trade or occupation, particularly one involving manual labor or skilled trades.
What does it mean word for word?
The phrase consists of the possessive adjective tu (your) and the noun profesión (profession).
Which one should you use?
tu profesión is used in informal settings, whereas su profesión is the equivalent used for formal contexts or to show respect.
Is it said differently in some regions?
In Mexico, instead of saying Soy médico, one might say Soy doctor/a to state their profession. In Argentina, it is common to say Laburo como abogado/a rather than Trabajo como abogado/a. In Spain, a person might say Soy profesor/a de castellano instead of Soy profesor/a de español.
How does it change in a sentence?
To express 'your profession' in a formal context, you should use su profesión.
How do you pronounce it?
/tu pɾofesjon/
Did you know?
- The word profesión shares its ancient roots with the Latin verb 'fateor', which means 'to confess' or 'to acknowledge'. This traces back to the idea of publicly declaring or professing one's beliefs or skills.
- When stating a profession, Spanish speakers omit the indefinite article 'a'. Instead of saying 'I am a teacher', they say Soy profesor, treating the profession as an intrinsic quality of the person.
- In professional settings, Spanish often uses the title licenciado or licenciada as a respectful way to address someone with a university degree, regardless of their specific profesión.
Examples in context
- Sea cual sea tu profesión y lo feliz que seas en ella, habrá momentos en los que desearás haber elegido otra carrera.No matter what your profession, or how happy you may be in it, there are moments when you wish you had chosen some other career.This sentence illustrates the use of tu profesión in a context discussing career satisfaction.Tatoeba #1160500 by Shishir, translation #70548 by CK
- Soy médico.I am a doctor.
- Trabajo como abogado/a.I work as a lawyer.
- Soy profesor/a de español.I am a Spanish teacher.
- Soy fotógrafo/a.I am a photographer.
- Debes tener orgullo de tu profesión.You should be proud of your profession.
- ¿En qué consiste tu profesión exactamente?What exactly does your profession consist of?
Example conversation
Mateo and Lucía are talking at a networking event.
- MateoLucía, cuéntame más sobre tu profesión.Lucía, tell me more about your profession.
- LucíaSoy arquitecta, me encanta mi trabajo.I am an architect, I love my job.
- MateoEs una profesión muy interesante.It is a very interesting profession.
- LucíaGracias, Mateo, me apasiona mucho.Thanks, Mateo, I am very passionate about it.
Sources
- IPA marked “from spelling rules” is derived from standard Spanish spelling, where Wiktionary gives none.
- Word origins: Wiktionary entries profesión, tu, CC BY-SA 4.0.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
