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Japanese vocabulary · Beginner
How do you say "What is your job?" in Japanese?
仕事は何ですか？
shigoto wa nan desu ka ?
In Japanese, "What is your job?" is 仕事は何ですか？ (shigoto wa nan desu ka ?).
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Pronunciation
仕事は何ですか？ is written using kanji. Romanised as shigoto wa nan desu ka ?, it sounds roughly like "shee-goh-toh-wah-nah-n-deh-soo-kah" to an English ear.
Writing and usage
Shigoto (仕事) means work or job and uses shi (serve) and goto (task). The particle wa marks the topic being discussed.
Example sentence
「お仕事は何ですか？」は初対面でよく聞かれます。
'Oshigoto wa nan desu ka?' wa shomen de yoku kikaremasu.
'What is your job?' is often asked when meeting someone for the first time.
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How to remember 仕事は何ですか？
Shigoto combines serving and task, reflecting the nature of work. Job inquiries are natural in Japanese introductions.
Related words
- what can't you do? できないことは何ですか？ dekinai koto wa nan desu ka ？
- when is your birthday? 誕生日はいつですか？ tanjōbi wa itsu desu ka ？
- what is the temperature on saturday? 土曜日の気温は何度ですか？ doyōbi no kion wa nan dodesu ka ？
- what do you hate? 何が大嫌いですか？ nani ga daikirai desu ka ？
- how old are you? 何歳ですか？ nan sai desu ka ？
- what is the weather on wednesday? 水曜日の天気は何ですか？ suiyōbi no tenki wa nan desu ka ？
- what don't you want? 欲しくないものは何ですか？ hoshikunai mono wa nan desu ka ？
- what is the weather on sunday? 日曜日の天気は何ですか？ nichiyōbi no tenki wa nan desu ka ？
- what is the weather on friday? 金曜日の天気は何ですか？ kinyōbi no tenki wa nan desu ka ？
Browse all Japanese words in the glossary.
Questions about 仕事は何ですか？
How do you pronounce 仕事は何ですか?
仕事は何ですか？ is romanised as shigoto wa nan desu ka ?. Say it roughly like "shee-goh-toh-wah-nah-n-deh-soo-kah" in English. Each Japanese syllable has even weight, so keep the rhythm steady.
Is 仕事は何ですか formal or casual?
仕事は何ですか？ is a neutral, everyday word that works in both casual and polite speech. The level of formality comes from the sentence structure around it, not from the word itself.
How is 仕事は何ですか written in Japanese?
仕事は何ですか？ is written using kanji. Shigoto (仕事) means work or job and uses shi (serve) and goto (task).
Where can I practice Japanese words for free?
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"What is your job?" in other languages
- Korean 직업이 뭐예요? (jigeobi mweoyeyo?)
- Chinese 你的工作是什么? (nǐ de gōng zuò shì shén me ?)
- Spanish ¿Cuál es tu trabajo?
- Spanish (Latin America) ¿En qué trabajas?
- French Quel est ton travail ?
- German Was ist dein Beruf?
- Italian Qual è il tuo lavoro?
- Russian Кем ты работаешь? (kem ty rabotaešʹ?)
- Greek Τι δουλειά κάνεις; (ti dhulia kanis)
- Arabic أنت شغال إيه؟ (inta shaghghael 'ieeh)
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