Looking up...
仕事
shigoto
work
彼は毎日8時間仕事をします。
He works 8 hours every day.
formal
Activity performed to earn income or fulfill a duty; employment.
彼女は新しい仕事を見つけました。
She found a new job.
この仕事は大変ですが、やりがいがあります。
This work is tough, but rewarding.
Can refer to both the act of working and the job itself.
informal
Task or assignment; something that needs to be done.
宿題の仕事がまだ残っています。
There's still homework work left.
今日の仕事は掃除です。
Today's task is cleaning.
Often used in daily conversation for chores or duties.
Related Phrases
Pro Tip
Using 仕事 vs 働く
Use 仕事 as a noun (e.g., 仕事を探す 'to look for a job'). Use 働く as a verb (e.g., 会社で働く 'to work at a company').
Gold Rule
Job vs Occupation
仕事 refers to the act of working or a specific task, while 職業 (shokugyō) refers to one's occupation or profession.
Word Origin
From Middle Chinese 事 ('affair, matter') + 事 ('affair, matter') + 仕 ('to serve') + 業 ('business, work'). The compound 仕事 emerged in Old Japanese as a combination of 仕 (to serve) and 業 (work), originally meaning 'service' or 'duty' before evolving to mean 'work' or 'job'.
Usage Notes
仕事 is the most common and neutral term for 'work' or 'job' in Japanese. It can refer to both professional employment and general tasks. Unlike English 'job', it does not imply a position with a specific title or company. For formal contexts, 業務 (gyōmu) or 職務 (shokumu) may be used.
Word Breakdown
仕
to serve
root事
thing, matter
root和英辞典