Talking About Your Job

Japanese Basic Conversation 1

Chapter 6 · Talking About Your Job

💼 Talking About Your Job — おしごと

After "where are you from?", the next question is what do you do? This chapter teaches you to say what your job is, where you work or study, and to reply politely when someone tells you about theirs. Many job titles are in katakana, so your reading skills get another workout. Romaji is shown under every line of Japanese.

① What Do You Do? — おしごとは？

A: おしごとはなんですか。 Oshigoto wa nan desu ka. What is your job?

B: エンジニアです。 Enjinia desu. I'm an engineer.

A: かいしゃではたらいていますか。 Kaisha de hataraite imasu ka. Do you work at a company?

B: はい、かいしゃではたらいています。 Hai, kaisha de hataraite imasu. Yes, I work at a company.

② IT Support — コンピューターのサポート

A: しごとはなんですか。 Shigoto wa nan desu ka. What's your work?

B: コンピューターのサポートです。 Konpyūtā no sapōto desu. It's computer support.

A: たいへんですね。 Taihen desu ne. That must be tough.

B: いいえ、たのしいです。 Iie, tanoshii desu. No, it's fun.

③ A Student — がくせい

A: がくせいですか。 Gakusei desu ka. Are you a student?

B: はい、だいがくでべんきょうしています。 Hai, daigaku de benkyō shite imasu. Yes, I study at university.

A: なにをべんきょうしていますか。 Nani o benkyō shite imasu ka. What are you studying?

B: にほんごをべんきょうしています。 Nihongo o benkyō shite imasu. I'm studying Japanese.

④ Where Do You Work? — どこで？

A: どこではたらいていますか。 Doko de hataraite imasu ka. Where do you work?

B: エジンバラのかいしゃではたらいています。 Ejinbara no kaisha de hataraite imasu. I work at a company in Edinburgh.

A: そうですか。 Sō desu ka. I see.

⑤ Every Day? — まいにち？

A: まいにちはたらきますか。 Mainichi hatarakimasu ka. Do you work every day?

B: いいえ、まいにちははたらきません。 Iie, mainichi wa hatarakimasen. No, I don't work every day.

A: それはいいですね。 Sore wa ii desu ne. That's nice.

⑥ A Teacher and a Doctor — せんせいといしゃ

A: たなかさんはせんせいですか。 Tanaka-san wa sensei desu ka. Tanaka-san, are you a teacher?

B: いいえ、いしゃです。 Iie, isha desu. No, I'm a doctor.

A: すごいですね。 Sugoi desu ne. That's impressive.

🗝️ Key Phrases — たいせつなひょうげん

Situation	Japanese	Notes
What is your job?	おしごとはなんですか oshigoto wa nan desu ka	お makes the word polite for the other person's job
My job is …	〜です … desu	エンジニアです
I work at …	〜ではたらいています … de hataraite imasu	で = at (where an action happens)
I study at …	〜でべんきょうしています … de benkyō shite imasu	same pattern
A company in (place)	エジンバラのかいしゃ Ejinbara no kaisha	の joins two nouns: "Edinburgh's company"
That must be tough!	たいへんですね taihen desu ne	a kind, sympathetic response
That's impressive!	すごいですね sugoi desu ne	a compliment

💼 Job Words — しごと

Many job titles are borrowed from English and written in katakana, which you can already read.

Job	Japanese	Notes
student	がくせい gakusei	any student, school or university
teacher	せんせい sensei	also for doctors and other respected experts
doctor	いしゃ isha	also おいしゃさん (polite)
nurse	かんごし kangoshi
office worker	かいしゃいん kaishain	lit. "company member"
engineer	エンジニア enjinia	from English
programmer	プログラマー puroguramā	from English
technical support	テクニカルサポート tekunikaru sapōto	or just サポート
web designer	ウェブデザイナー webu dezainā	from English
shop clerk	てんいん ten'in
driver	うんてんしゅ untenshu
part-time job	アルバイト arubaito	often shortened to バイト; from German Arbeit

🧩 Particles at Work — じょし

Particle	Job	Example
の no	of; links two nouns	エジンバラのかいしゃ Ejinbara no kaisha
で de	at; where something happens	かいしゃではたらきます kaisha de hatarakimasu
を o	marks the object	にほんごをべんきょうします Nihongo o benkyō shimasu
は wa	marks the topic	しごとはサポートです shigoto wa sapōto desu

はたらいています — Another Set Phrase はたらいています means "I am working (at)", the continuing form of はたらきます. As with すんでいます in the last chapter, learn it as a fixed phrase for now: 〜ではたらいています is how you say where you work, and 〜でべんきょうしています is how you say where you study.

🔤 Three More Verbs — どうし

Verb	Present (polite)	Negative	Past
to work (はたらく)	はたらきます hatarakimasu	はたらきません hatarakimasen	はたらきました hatarakimashita
to study (べんきょうする)	べんきょうします benkyō shimasu	べんきょうしません benkyō shimasen	べんきょうしました benkyō shimashita
to rest; to take a day off (やすむ)	やすみます yasumimasu	やすみません yasumimasen	やすみました yasumimashita

📖 Vocabulary — ごい

20 key words. Read the Japanese first, then check the romaji.

#	Japanese	Romaji	English	Type
1	しごと	shigoto	work; job	noun
2	おしごと	oshigoto	your work; your job (polite)	noun
3	かいしゃ	kaisha	company; workplace	noun
4	かいしゃいん	kaishain	office worker	noun
5	せんせい	sensei	teacher	noun
6	いしゃ	isha	doctor	noun
7	かんごし	kangoshi	nurse	noun
8	エンジニア	enjinia	engineer	noun
9	サポート	sapōto	support	noun
10	コンピューター	konpyūtā	computer	noun
11	アルバイト	arubaito	part-time job	noun
12	はたらきます	hatarakimasu	to work	verb
13	べんきょうします	benkyō shimasu	to study	verb
14	やすみます	yasumimasu	to rest; to take a day off	verb
15	まいにち	mainichi	every day	noun
16	たいへん	taihen	hard; tough; serious	adj
17	たのしい	tanoshii	fun; enjoyable	adj
18	なに	nani	what	noun
19	で	de	at; by means of (particle)	noun
20	の	no	of (particle)	noun

Real Japanese Tip — Job Titles in Katakana Because many modern jobs came from abroad, their names are katakana loanwords: エンジニア, プログラマー, サポート. Traditional jobs tend to be hiragana or kanji (いしゃ, せんせい). A good rule: if it sounds like English, it's probably katakana.

おしごと, おなまえ: The Polite お You've now met the polite お several times: おなまえ (your name), おくに (your country), おしごと (your job). Put お in front of nouns that belong to the person you're talking to, and never in front of your own: you say しごとはエンジニアです about yourself, but おしごとはなんですか to someone else.

かいしゃ Means More Than Company かいしゃ is a company, but in everyday speech it also means "the office; work". かいしゃへいきます is "I go to work". And remember おつかれさまです from Chapter 1: it's what colleagues say to each other all day, the soundtrack of the Japanese workplace.

Kanji Spotlight — 学 and 生学 (gaku, mana(bu)) means study, learning, and 生 (sei, nama, i(kiru)) means life, birth, raw. 学生 (gakusei) is a student, literally "learning person", and 先生 (sensei) is a teacher, literally "one born earlier". Two kanji, and you can already read two of this chapter's job words.

✍️ Try It Yourself — れんしゅう

Say each answer out loud first, then click to check.

1. Ask someone politely what their job is.

Show answer

おしごとはなんですか。

2. Say "I'm an engineer / a student / a teacher".

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エンジニアです。 · がくせいです。 · せんせいです。

3. Say "I work at a company in Edinburgh".

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エジンバラのかいしゃではたらいています。

4. What does たいへんですね mean, and when do you say it?

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"That must be tough": a sympathetic reply when someone describes hard work.

5. Why do you say おしごと for someone else's job but しごと for your own?

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お is a polite prefix for things belonging to the person you're talking to; you don't use it for your own.

6. Say "I study Japanese at home." (いえ = home)

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いえでにほんごをべんきょうしています。

Coming Up in Chapter 7 Days, dates and telling the time: the days of the week, months, the tricky day-of-the-month readings, and the clock. Another three-part chapter.

Talking About Your Job