Imagine you are filling in a Japanese form at a government office. One field is clearly labelled 職業欄（しょくぎょうらん）— the occupation field. You know the Japanese word for “work” is 仕事（しごと）, so you write: 私の仕事は会社（かいしゃ）です. The clerk glances at your form and gives you a polite but puzzled look. What went wrong?
The problem is that English uses one wide word — “work” — for several very different ideas that Japanese keeps carefully separate. 仕事 is the activity of working. 会社 is the company you work for. 職場（しょくば）is the environment around you at work. And 職業（しょくぎょう）is your occupation as a category — the word that belongs on official forms and formal introductions. Writing 仕事は会社です is a bit like writing “my work is a building” in English. The pieces are real Japanese words, but they do not fit together the way the writer intended.
Once you see the logic behind each word, the confusion disappears — and you will start noticing how naturally Japanese speakers switch between them. This article walks through all four words with clear examples, common mistakes, and a decision guide so you always reach for the right one.
| Word | Reading | Core meaning | English equivalent | Typical context |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 仕事 | しごと (shigoto) | Work / job / task — the activity of working | “work,” “job,” “task” | Everyday conversation about working and being busy |
| 会社 | かいしゃ (kaisha) | Company / corporation — the organisation you belong to | “company,” “firm,” “the office” | Referring to the company as an entity or place |
| 職場 | しょくば (shokuba) | Workplace — the physical and social environment where you work | “workplace,” “work environment” | Discussing the atmosphere, people, or conditions at work |
| 職業 | しょくぎょう (shokugyou) | Occupation / profession — the category of work you do | “occupation,” “profession,” “career” | Official forms, formal introductions, job classifications |
YukaSo when I say “I’m going to work” in Japanese, do I say 仕事に行く or 会社に行く? They both seem to mean the same thing…
ReiBoth are natural — but they emphasise different things! 仕事に行く focuses on the act of going to do your work. 会社に行く means you are going to the company building. If you work from home, you would not say 会社に行く — but you could still say 仕事に行く if you are heading out for a work meeting. The activity vs the organisation — that is the core split.
What Does 仕事 Mean?
仕事 as work / job / task
仕事（しごと）is the most versatile of the four words — and the one you will use most often in daily conversation. At its core, 仕事 refers to the activity of working: the tasks you carry out, the effort you put in, the occupation as something you do rather than something you belong to. It covers everything from a single task you are tackling right now to your career as a whole activity.
The kanji breakdown is useful here: 仕（し）originally related to serving or working for someone, and 事（こと）means “thing” or “matter.” Put together, 仕事 is literally the “matter of serving” — work as an activity you engage in. This is why it feels natural wherever the English word “work” functions as an uncountable activity noun (“work is fun,” “I have lots of work”) rather than a place or an institution.
仕事に行く / 仕事をする / 仕事が忙しい
The three most common patterns with 仕事 show how broadly it applies:
▶ 仕事に行く（しごとにいく）— to go to work
Shigoto ni iku.
I’m going to work. (Focus: the activity or purpose of working, not the building.)
▶ 仕事をする（しごとをする）— to do work / to work
Shigoto wo suru.
I’m going to do some work. / I’ll work on it.
▶ 仕事が忙しい（しごとがいそがしい）— to be busy with work
Shigoto ga isogashii.
I’m busy with work. (One of the most common sentences you will ever hear in Japan.)
仕事 as a specific task
仕事 can also refer to a specific job or task, not just work in general. In this sense it is countable in context: この仕事 means “this job / this task,” as in a particular project or piece of work you were given. This is different from 職業, which refers to an occupational category — 仕事 here is about what you are actually doing right now or were asked to do.
▶ この仕事、手伝ってもらえますか？
Kono shigoto, tetsudatte moraemasu ka?
Could you help me with this task?
The polite form お仕事（おしごと）is frequently used when asking or speaking about someone else’s work, especially in service situations or when speaking with someone you respect.
▶ お仕事は何をされていますか？
Oshigoto wa nani wo sarete imasu ka?
What kind of work do you do? (Polite / formal register)
Common example sentences
▶ 今日は仕事が多くて疲れた。
Kyou wa shigoto ga ookute tsukareta.
I had a lot of work today and got tired.
▶ 彼女は仕事が速い。
Kanojo wa shigoto ga hayai.
She is fast at her work. (Describes work pace/ability, not a job title.)
▶ 仕事と生活のバランスを大切にしています。
Shigoto to seikatsu no baransu wo taisetsu ni shite imasu.
I value work-life balance.
What Does 会社 Mean?
会社 as company / corporation
会社（かいしゃ）is the word for a company or corporation — the legal and organisational entity. It is a noun that names the institution, not the activity of working. The two kanji give a clear picture: 会（かい）means “gathering” or “meeting,” and 社（しゃ）carries meanings related to a group, organisation, or shrine. Together, 会社 is an “organised gathering” — a company as a formal body.
When you use 会社, you are talking about the thing you belong to or the place you go to — not what you do there. Think of it as the building, the brand, the employer, or the institution.
会社に行く / 会社で働く
▶ 会社に行く（かいしゃにいく）— to go to the company / to go to the office
Kaisha ni iku.
I’m going to the office. (The company as a physical destination.)
▶ 会社で働く（かいしゃではたらく）— to work at a company
Kaisha de hataraku.
I work at a company.
▶ どんな会社に勤めていますか？
Donna kaisha ni tsutomete imasu ka?
What kind of company do you work for?
会社員 — company employee
One of the most useful compound words built from 会社 is 会社員（かいしゃいん）, which means a “company employee” — someone who works for a company, typically in an office or salaried position. 会社員 is itself a 職業 word: it is the occupational category “office worker” or “company employee” that you might write on a form.
▶ 私は会社員です。
Watashi wa kaishain desu.
I am a company employee / office worker. (A complete, natural self-introduction for occupational context.)
会社 vs 社会 — easy confusion note
New learners sometimes confuse 会社（かいしゃ）with 社会（しゃかい）. These two words use the same two kanji but in reverse order, and they mean completely different things.
会社（かいしゃ）= a company, a corporation
社会（しゃかい）= society, the social world, the community at large
The order of kanji matters: 会社 puts 会 (gathering) first, making it about an organisation. 社会 puts 社 first and 会 second, making it about the broad “gathering of society.” A quick way to remember: 社会人（しゃかいじん）means “a member of society / a working adult” — someone who has entered the adult world of work. 会社 is the specific company; 社会 is the whole of society.
Common example sentences
▶ 彼はIT会社に勤めています。
Kare wa IT kaisha ni tsutomete imasu.
He works at an IT company.
▶ 私たちの会社は東京にあります。
Watashitachi no kaisha wa Tokyo ni arimasu.
Our company is in Tokyo.
▶ 会社を起業した。
Kaisha wo kigyou shita.
I started (founded) a company.
What Does 職場 Mean?
職場 as workplace / work environment
職場（しょくば）means “workplace” in a rich, layered sense — not just the physical location, but the social atmosphere, the relationships, and the culture of the place where you work. The kanji 職（しょく）means occupation or post, and 場（ば）means place or scene. So 職場 is literally the “place of one’s post” — the context and environment of your working life.
This is the word Japanese speakers reach for when they want to talk about how it feels to be at work, who the people around them are, or whether the environment is healthy or toxic. It is about the human and physical reality of your working situation — not just the name of the company or the type of job.
職場の人 — the people you work with
▶ 職場の人たちはみんな優しい。
Shokuba no hitotachi wa minna yasashii.
Everyone at my workplace is kind. (Describing the people in your work environment.)
▶ 職場の同僚と飲みに行った。
Shokuba no douryou to nomi ni itta.
I went out drinking with my workplace colleagues.
職場の雰囲気 — atmosphere at work
One of the most common 職場 phrases is 職場の雰囲気（しょくばのふんいき）— “the atmosphere / vibe at work.” This is a phrase you will hear constantly when Japanese people talk about whether they like their job or are considering changing it.
▶ 職場の雰囲気がいいので、仕事が楽しい。
Shokuba no funiki ga ii node, shigoto ga tanoshii.
Because the workplace atmosphere is good, work is enjoyable.
▶ 職場の雰囲気が悪くて、転職を考えている。
Shokuba no funiki ga warukute, tenshoku wo kangaete iru.
The workplace atmosphere is bad, so I’m thinking of changing jobs.
職場環境 — working conditions
職場環境（しょくばかんきょう）combines 職場 with 環境（かんきょう、environment/conditions）and is frequently used in discussions about labour conditions, remote work policies, mental health at work, and workplace harassment. It is a more formal and structured term than just 職場の雰囲気, often appearing in HR documents, surveys, and news articles.
▶ 職場環境の改善が急務だ。
Shokuba kankyou no kaizen ga kyuumu da.
Improving working conditions is an urgent matter.
Common example sentences
▶ 職場でのハラスメントは許されない。
Shokuba de no harassment wa yurusarenai.
Harassment in the workplace is unacceptable.
▶ 新しい職場に慣れるまで時間がかかった。
Atarashii shokuba ni nareru made jikan ga kakatta.
It took time to get used to the new workplace.
What Does 職業 Mean?
職業 as occupation / profession
職業（しょくぎょう）is the most formal of the four words, and the most specific in its function. It refers to your occupation as a named category — the label that classifies what kind of work you do in the world. Think of it as the answer to the question “What do you do?” when that question is being asked for official purposes: teacher, nurse, engineer, freelancer, student. 職業 is the category noun.
The kanji: 職（しょく）means a post, position, or occupation. 業（ぎょう）means business, industry, or work as a field. Together, 職業 is your professional field of work — the classification, not the daily activity. This is why it is the word used on government forms, job applications, and census documents.
職業は何ですか — “What is your occupation?”
▶ ご職業は何ですか？
Go-shokugyou wa nan desu ka?
What is your occupation? (Formal register — used in official settings, interviews, formal introductions.)
▶ 職業は教師です。
Shokugyou wa kyoushi desu.
My occupation is teacher.
▶ 職業は医師です。
Shokugyou wa ishi desu.
My occupation is physician.
職業欄 — the occupation field on forms
職業欄（しょくぎょうらん）is “the occupation column / field” on official forms — from residence registration cards to hospital intake sheets to visa applications. If you have ever filled in a Japanese form and seen a blank box labelled 職業, this is where you write your occupation title: 会社員（office worker）, 自営業（じえいぎょう、self-employed）, 学生（がくせい、student）, 無職（むしょく、unemployed）, and so on.
Writing 仕事 in this box would be like writing “work” in an English form’s “Occupation” field — technically related, but not what the form is asking for. The form wants a category label, and that is the job of 職業.
職業として — as a profession
職業として（しょくぎょうとして）means “as a profession” or “professionally.” This phrasing often appears when someone is explaining that they do something as their recognised field of work, not just as a hobby.
▶ 音楽を職業としている。
Ongaku wo shokugyou to shite iru.
I work in music professionally. (Music is my occupation.)
Common example sentences
▶ 職業欄には「会社員」と書いてください。
Shokugyou-ran ni wa “kaishain” to kaite kudasai.
Please write “company employee” in the occupation field.
▶ 彼の職業はフリーランスのデザイナーです。
Kare no shokugyou wa furi-ransu no dezaina- desu.
His occupation is freelance designer.
▶ 職業の選択は人生の大きな決断だ。
Shokugyou no sentaku wa jinsei no ookina ketsudan da.
Choosing an occupation is a major life decision.
仕事 vs 職業: Daily Work Activity vs Professional Category
Daily work activity vs professional category
This is the contrast that trips up learners most often because both 仕事 and 職業 translate as “job” in English dictionaries. The key is to ask: am I talking about doing something, or am I naming what I am?
仕事 is about the doing. 職業 is about the category. Compare:
▶ 仕事は忙しいです。
Shigoto wa isogashii desu.
Work is busy. (The activity of working is demanding right now.)
▶ 職業は教師です。
Shokugyou wa kyoushi desu.
My occupation is teacher. (The professional category I belong to.)
You would not say 職業は忙しいです — occupations are not busy. Nor would you write 私の仕事は教師です on a form, because 仕事 does not name a professional category the way 職業 does (though in casual conversation, 仕事は先生をしています is understood and natural).
Temporary / part-time job vs occupation title
仕事 can refer to any kind of work, including temporary, part-time, or informal work. 職業 tends to imply a more stable, recognisable professional identity. If you do a bit of tutoring on weekends, you might say 仕事でいくつかレッスンをしています (I do a few lessons as work), but you would likely not call it your 職業 unless it is your main professional identity.
Self-introduction examples
Formal self-introduction (using 職業):
▶ ご職業は何ですか？— 職業はエンジニアです。
Go-shokugyou wa nan desu ka? — Shokugyou wa enjinia desu.
What is your occupation? — My occupation is engineer.
Casual self-introduction (using 仕事):
▶ お仕事は何をされていますか？— IT系の仕事をしています。
Oshigoto wa nani wo sarete imasu ka? — IT-kei no shigoto wo shite imasu.
What do you do for work? — I work in IT.
会社 vs 職場: Company as Organisation vs Workplace as Environment
Company as organization vs workplace as environment
会社 and 職場 are often interchangeable in casual translation — both relate to “where you work” — but they answer different questions. 会社 answers “which organization do you belong to?” while 職場 answers “what is the place and people around you like?”
| 会社（かいしゃ） | 職場（しょくば） | |
|---|---|---|
| What it refers to | The company / organisation as an entity | The environment, atmosphere, people at work |
| Focus | Institutional — the “what” you belong to | Human / physical — the “where and how” of your working life |
| Used with atmosphere? | ❌ 会社の雰囲気 is less natural | ✅ 職場の雰囲気 is very common |
| Used with name / brand? | ✅ Toyota という会社 (a company called Toyota) | ❌ Toyota という職場 (unusual) |
| Used with “quit”? | ✅ 会社を辞める (to quit the company) | ✅ 職場を離れる (to leave the workplace) |
| Used with “colleagues”? | ✅ 会社の同僚 (company colleagues) | ✅ 職場の同僚 (workplace colleagues — more personal nuance) |
会社に勤める vs 職場で働く
▶ 大手の会社に勤めています。
Oote no kaisha ni tsutomete imasu.
I am employed at a large company. (States your institutional affiliation.)
▶ 職場で毎日頑張っています。
Shokuba de mainichi gambatte imasu.
I work hard every day at my workplace. (Describes the lived experience at work.)
The difference is subtle but real. 会社に勤める puts the company in focus as the entity you are attached to. 職場で働く puts the daily human reality of your working environment in focus. Think of 会社 as the letterhead on your business card, and 職場 as the room where you actually spend your days.
仕事 vs 会社: Work Activity vs The Organisation
仕事に行く vs 会社に行く — the subtle difference
Both sentences translate as “I’m going to work” in English, but they carry different emphases:
仕事に行く puts the purpose in focus — you are going somewhere to work. It is about the act of working, not a specific location. A freelancer, a construction worker visiting a site, or a home worker heading to a cafe to write could all say 仕事に行く.
会社に行く puts the destination in focus — you are going to the company building. It implies you have a physical company office to commute to. Someone who works remotely would sound odd saying 会社に行く if they are staying home.
仕事が忙しい vs 会社が忙しい
仕事が忙しい（work is busy）is perfectly natural — you are describing the workload and demands of your job activity. It is one of the most common things you will hear Japanese people say.
会社が忙しい（the company is busy）is grammatically possible but less naturally used when talking about your own situation. It would more naturally describe the company as a collective entity being in a busy season. If you are describing your own busyness, 仕事が忙しい is the default.
Why 私の会社は医者です is wrong
This is one of the most instructive mistakes to understand. The sentence 私の会社は医者です literally says “my company is a doctor” — which makes no sense. The speaker probably intended to say “I am a doctor” or “my occupation is doctor.” Here is what to say instead:
❌ 私の会社は医者です。
My company is a doctor. (❌ Wrong — a company cannot be a doctor.)
✅ 私の職業は医者です。
Watashi no shokugyou wa isha desu.
My occupation is doctor. (✅ Correct — using the right word for occupational category.)
✅ 私は医者をしています。
Watashi wa isha wo shite imasu.
I work as a doctor. (✅ Also natural in conversation.)
✅ 私は医者です。
Watashi wa isha desu.
I am a doctor. (✅ The simplest and most direct form.)
YukaOh! So 会社 is always the organisation, never the person. You would never say “my company is a teacher” to mean “I am a teacher.”
ReiExactly right! 会社 is always a thing — an entity, an organisation. It cannot be a person’s profession. When you want to say what you do professionally, use 職業, or just say 私は〜です / 私は〜をしています. Keep 会社 for talking about the company itself — its name, its location, its policies, its structure.
Related Work Vocabulary
働く (hataraku) — to work (verb)
働く（はたらく）is the primary Japanese verb meaning “to work.” While 仕事 is the noun (work as a concept), 働く is the action verb. Notice that 仕事をする also means “to do work,” but 働く is more fundamental — it expresses the state of being engaged in labour.
▶ 毎日8時間働いています。
Mainichi 8 jikan hataraite imasu.
I work eight hours every day.
勤める (tsutomeru) — to be employed at
勤める（つとめる）means to be employed at or to work for an organisation. It emphasises affiliation — you are attached to a specific company or institution. It pairs naturally with 会社に and 学校に.
▶ 銀行に勤めています。
Ginkou ni tsutomete imasu.
I work at a bank. (I am employed by a bank.)
バイト / アルバイト — part-time job
アルバイト（from the German Arbeit, “work”) refers to a part-time job, typically hourly-paid. The shortened form バイト is extremely common in casual speech. Importantly, アルバイト is a type of 仕事, but you would not write it as a 職業 on a formal form — you would write 無職 (unemployed) or アルバイト depending on context.
▶ 週末はバイトをしています。
Shuumatsu wa baito wo shite imasu.
I do a part-time job on weekends.
正社員 vs 派遣社員 — full-time vs contract employee
正社員（せいしゃいん）means a full-time, permanent employee — someone directly employed with full benefits and job security. 派遣社員（はけんしゃいん）means a contract or dispatched worker employed through a staffing agency. Both are types of 職業 status that might appear on forms, and both work at a 職場 that may or may not be the same as their own 会社.
業種 vs 職種 — industry type vs job type
業種（ぎょうしゅ）refers to the industry or sector — what field the company operates in (e.g. manufacturing, finance, IT, education). 職種（しょくしゅ）refers to the type of role or function — what kind of work you do within a company (e.g. sales, engineering, administration, design). Both often appear on job application forms next to 職業.
転職する — to change jobs
転職する（てんしょくする）means to change jobs — specifically to move to a different company or occupation. It is one of the most discussed life decisions in modern Japan, and you will encounter it constantly in adult conversations.
▶ 来年、転職しようと思っています。
Rainen, tenshoku shiyou to omotte imasu.
I’m thinking of changing jobs next year.
Common Mistakes English Speakers Make
Translating every “work” as 仕事
Because 仕事 is the first “work” word most learners encounter, there is a temptation to use it in every context. This leads to sentences like 仕事で働く (literally “work at work”) when 会社で働く or simply 働く would be cleaner. Use 仕事 when the focus is on the activity or workload, not just as a filler for any sentence that involves employment.
Saying 私の会社は医者です
As explained above: 会社 is always an organisation. It cannot be your profession. To state your occupation, use 私の職業は〜です or 私は〜です / 私は〜をしています.
Confusing 職場 and 会社
Both relate to where you work, but choosing the wrong one shifts the nuance significantly. If you say 会社の雰囲気が悪い, you are making a statement about the company as an institution. If you say 職場の雰囲気が悪い, you are talking about the actual day-to-day environment around you. In most cases, when discussing feelings, colleagues, and daily conditions, 職場 is the more precise word.
Using 職業 in casual conversation too often
職業 has a formal, administrative feel. In everyday conversation, asking ご職業は何ですか？sounds quite stiff — as stiff as asking “What is your occupation?” in English small talk. For casual conversation, お仕事は何をされていますか？ or 何のお仕事をされていますか？is much more natural and friendly.
Confusing 会社 and 社会
A simple but embarrassing swap: 会社（かいしゃ）= company; 社会（しゃかい）= society. The kanji are the same, the readings sound similar, and the meaning is completely different. Pay attention to kanji order. A memory trick: 社会人（しゃかいじん）— “a person of society” — means a working adult, someone who has entered the adult world. Once you know 社会人, the 社会 vs 会社 distinction sticks.
Not knowing 職業欄 exists on official forms
Many learners learn 仕事 but never encounter 職業欄 until they are sitting in a Japanese government office filling in a form. Knowing that 職業欄 is the “occupation field” — and knowing the standard categories (会社員, 自営業, 学生, 無職, etc.) — will save you a lot of confused moments in real life.
YukaSo if I’m a student and someone asks ご職業は？on a form, I just write 学生 in the 職業欄?
ReiExactly. 学生 is the standard occupational category for students on Japanese official forms. Other common ones are 会社員 for office workers, 自営業 for self-employed people, and 無職 for those without employment. These are the vocabulary items 職業 is designed to hold — short, official category labels, not descriptions of your daily tasks.
Decision Rule: Which Work Word Should You Use?
Quick decision guide
Use this guide whenever you are unsure which word to reach for:
Are you talking about tasks, workload, or the activity of working?
→ Use 仕事
Examples: 仕事が忙しい, 仕事をする, 仕事に行く
Are you talking about the company or organisation as an entity?
→ Use 会社
Examples: 会社に勤める, 会社を辞める, 大きい会社
Are you talking about the physical location, the atmosphere, or the people around you at work?
→ Use 職場
Examples: 職場の雰囲気, 職場の人, 職場環境
Are you stating your profession on a form, in a formal introduction, or as an occupational category?
→ Use 職業
Examples: 職業は教師, 職業欄, ご職業は何ですか？
Are you describing WHAT YOU DO (activity / tasks)?
|
YES
|
v
Use 仕事
(仕事が忙しい / 仕事をする)
Are you naming THE ORGANISATION?
|
YES
|
v
Use 会社
(会社に勤める / 会社を辞める)
Are you describing THE PEOPLE / ATMOSPHERE / ENVIRONMENT?
|
YES
|
v
Use 職場
(職場の雰囲気 / 職場の人)
Are you stating a PROFESSIONAL CATEGORY on a form or formally?
|
YES
|
v
Use 職業
(職業は会社員 / 職業欄 / ご職業は？)Quick Quiz
Fill in the blank with 仕事、会社、職場、or 職業.
1. 彼女は外資系の______に勤めています。
She works at a foreign-owned ______.
2. 申込書の______欄に「会社員」と書いてください。
Please write “company employee” in the ______ field on the application form.
3. 最近、______が忙しくて残業が多い。
Lately ______ is busy and I have a lot of overtime.
4. 新しい______の雰囲気はとても良かった。
The atmosphere at the new ______ was very good.
5. 私の______はフリーランスのライターです。
My ______ is freelance writer.
6. 来年、転______しようと考えています。
I am thinking of changing ______ next year. (Hint: think of the verb 転職する)
Answers:
1. 会社（the foreign-owned entity / organisation）
2. 職業（the occupational category field on a form）
3. 仕事（the workload / the activity of working）
4. 職場（the work environment and its atmosphere）
5. 職業（formal occupational category — freelance writer）
6. 職（転職する — to change jobs; the missing kanji is 職）
Do you find yourself mixing up 仕事 and 会社 in Japanese? Or have you had to fill in a 職業欄 on a Japanese form? Share in the comments — we would love to hear your experience!
Keep Learning
