How to Say ‘I worked.’ in Japanese
働きました。
hataraki mashi ta
[ha-ta-ra-kee mah-shee tah]
💬 Usage Tip: [働きました] is polite past of [働く]. Pattern: [〜で働きました] “I worked at ~.”
🇯🇵 In Japan: When describing past jobs, Japanese style favors modest, factual statements—let your examples show your strengths.
Phrase Breakdown
働き
hataraki
[ha-ta-ra-kee]
work (polite past stem)
From 働く (to work). In polite past form, it becomes 働きました, used to describe previous jobs in interviews.
老人ホームで働きました。
I worked at a nursing home.
まし
mashi
[mah-shee]
polite verb marker (part of ～ました)
まし is part of the polite past ending ～ました. It makes the statement polite and interview-appropriate.
介護施設で働きました。
I worked at a care facility.
た
ta
[tah]
past tense marker (part of ～ました)
た completes the polite past form ～ました, indicating an action in the past.
二年間働きました。
I worked for two years.
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