Lesson 43 - Jobs

Of course, when talking about your family or yourself, one might be interested in your occupation. Here are a few basic jobs you can learn the names of. These are just general terms; if you wish to find more specific jobs, feel free to look them up in a dictionary, for there are so many that I can't list here.
The word for your job, or work, is shigoto. To ask someone about their job, merely ask, Anata no shigoto wa nan desu ka. You can replace anata with whoever's job you want to ask about.

The job of a nurse has the name kangofu. A doctor would be oisha while a dentist is haisha. A lawyer is bengoshi. A housewife would merely be called shufu while an office worker is kaishain. A shop assistant, or store clerk, would be called mise no hito, or taken more literally, "person of the store". An engineer is the Japanese/english word ENJINIA while a carpenter is daiku. A driver would be called untenshu and a station worker is ekiin. As you already know, a teacher is sensei.
Let's have a conversation between Keita and Akira.

Keita: Ohayou, Akira-kun.
Akira: Ohayou! Doko ni ikimasu ka.
Keita: Mise ni ikimasu.
Akira: Naze?
Keita: Boku wa mise no hito desu.
Akira: Sou desu ka.
Keita: Hai! Anata no shigoto wa nan desu ka.
Akira: Boku wa kaishain desu.
Keita: Sou desu ka?! Sugoi ne!
Akira: Iie.

This is a very simple and cute little dialogue between the two. Keita begins with a greeting and Akira asks, "Where are you going?" Keita replies that he is going to the shop and Akira questions why. Keita says, "I am a shop clerk." Akira asks if this is so and Keita replies, "Yes! What is your job?" Akira replise, "I am an office worker." Keita then says sugoi, which is a small phrase for saying "wonderful" or "great". Akira modestly replies, "No.."

Vocabulary Review
仕事　Shigoto- job/work
看護婦　Kangofu- nurse
お医者　Oisha- doctor
歯医者　Haisha- dentist
弁護士　Bengoshi- lawyer
主婦　Shufu- housewife
会社員　Kaishain- office worker
店の人　Mise no hito- shop clerk
エンジニア　ENJINIA- engineer
大工　Daiku- carpenter
運転手　Untenshu- driver
駅員　Ekiin- station worker
すごい　Sugoi- wonderful/great