What do you do?：”oshigoto wa nan desuka?” Japanese Phrase #291

Yuka

“What do you do for work?” is one of the first questions in any Japanese conversation. Let’s master お仕事は何ですか？

Breaking Down the Phrase

• お仕事 (oshigoto) — polite form of 仕事, used when referring to someone else’s work
• は — topic particle
• 何ですか (nan desu ka) — what is it?

Example Conversations

A: お仕事は何ですか？
What do you do for work?

B: エンジニアです。
I’m an engineer.

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Casual version:

A: 仕事は何してるの？ / 何の仕事してる？
What kind of work do you do?

Rei

When do I use お仕事 vs 仕事?

Yuka

Use お仕事 when asking about someone else’s job (polite). Say 仕事 when talking about your own job: 私の仕事は〜 (without お).

How to Answer

Quick Quiz

How would you ask politely: “What does your father do for work?”

Answer: お父様のお仕事は何ですか？ (or more naturally: お父さんは何のお仕事をされていますか？)

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