Self-Introduction & Personal Information
Lesson 3: Job and Occupation
しごとのいいかた — Talking About Your Work
⏱️ About 25 minutes ／ 📊 Level: Beginner (N5) ／ 🗣️ Speaking + Reading
Before You Start
After saying your name and country, the next natural step in a self-introduction is to mention your job. In Japan, talking about your work is a normal part of meeting someone new. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to say your job clearly and politely.
What you’ll learn:
- Say your job — 会社員です / 学生です
- Ask someone’s job politely — お仕事は何ですか
- Say you work part-time — アルバイトをしています
- Say where you work — 〇〇で働いています
- Say you are not working now — 今は働いていません
- Use job words in a self-introduction
1. Key Phrases ／ きほんのフレーズ
2. Common Job Words ／ しごとのことば
Use these words with 〇〇です to say your job.
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| 会社員 | kaishain | company employee |
| 学生 | gakusee | student |
| 大学生 | daigakusee | university student |
| 先生 / 教師 | sensee / kyooshi | teacher |
| エンジニア | enjinia | engineer |
| 看護師 | kangoshi | nurse |
| 医者 | isha | doctor |
| 介護士 | kaigoshi | care worker |
| 主婦 | shufu | homemaker |
| アルバイト | arubaito | part-time job |
3. Phrase Notes ／ ポイント
Avoid saying 無職です (unemployed) directly — it can sound blunt in Japanese. Use 今は働いていません instead. It says the same thing but sounds more natural and polite.
4. Polite & Simple ／ ていねい・カジュアル
| Polite / Natural | Simple / Casual | English |
|---|---|---|
| お仕事は何ですか。 | 仕事は何ですか。 | What is your job? |
| 〇〇で働いています。 | 〇〇で働いている。 | I work at 〇〇. |
| 今は働いていません。 | 働いていない。 | I am not working now. |
💡 For beginners, always use the polite form. The four most useful job expressions: 会社員です / 学生です / アルバイトをしています / 今は働いていません。
5. Conversation Practice ／ かいわ
💬 Conversation 1 — Company Employee
💬 Conversation 2 — Student
💬 Conversation 3 — Part-Time Job
💬 Conversation 4 — Not Working Now
6. Vocabulary ／ たんご
| Japanese | Romaji | English |
|---|---|---|
| 仕事 / お仕事 | shigoto / oshigoto | job / work (polite) |
| 会社 | kaisha | company |
| 働いています | hataraite imasu | am working |
| 働いていません | hataraite imasen | am not working |
| 勉強しています | benkyoo shite imasu | am studying |
| 探しています | sagashite imasu | am looking for |
| レストラン | resutoran | restaurant |
| ホテル | hoteru | hotel |
| 病院 | byooin | hospital |
| 工場 | koojoo | factory |
7. Check Your Understanding ／ クイズ
Think about each question first. The answer and explanation are shown below each one.
Q1. What does 「会社員です」 mean?
会社員 = company employee. です = am. Use this simple pattern for any job: 〇〇です.
Q2. What does 「レストランで働いています」 mean?
で marks the place where the action happens. 働いています = am working. Together: “I work at a restaurant.”
Q3. What does 「今は働いていません」 mean?
今は = now. 働いていません = am not working. This is a softer, more natural way to say you are currently without work.
8. Match the Phrase ／ れんしゅう
Match each Japanese phrase with its correct English meaning.
9. Choose the Best Response ／ れんしゅう
Choose the best response for each situation. Answers are shown below.
Q1. Someone asks, 「お仕事は何ですか。」
When asked “What is your job?” reply with your job using 〇〇です.
Q2. Someone asks, 「どこで働いていますか。」
When asked “Where do you work?” reply with 〇〇で働いています.
Q3. You are studying Japanese and not working now.
Saying 今は働いていません。日本語を勉強しています。 gives a complete, natural answer for this situation.
🚀 Mini Mission
Today’s mission: Say your job or current activity in Japanese.
Try saying:
＿＿＿＿＿ で働いています。（where I work）
今は ＿＿＿＿＿ をしています。（what I’m doing）
Practice with your teacher, a classmate, or in front of a mirror.
📘 Review ／ まとめ
In this lesson, you learned how to talk about your job in Japanese. The four most useful patterns are:
学生です。(I am a student.)
〇〇で働いています。(I work at 〇〇.)
今は働いていません。(I am not working now.)
💡 Remember: use お仕事は何ですか (polite) to ask someone’s job. Avoid 無職です and say 今は働いていません instead — it sounds more natural.
FAQ
Want to Practice with a Teacher?
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