How to Say ‘What kind of work?’ in Japanese
どんな仕事ですか。
donna shigoto desu ka
[don-nah shee-go-toh dess kah]
💬 Usage Tip: Natural follow-up: [食事の手伝いや入浴介助をしました] to list duties.
🇯🇵 In Japan: Interviewers ask this to check if your experience matches their facility’s needs and safety standards.
Phrase Breakdown
どんな
donna
[don-nah]
what kind of
Asking for description/details about duties or role.
面接で「どんな仕事ですか。」と聞かれました。
In the interview, I was asked, “What kind of work is it?”
仕事
shigoto
[shee-go-toh]
work; job
Refers to job content/tasks; in interviews, you can answer by listing duties like 食事の手伝い or 入浴介助.
どんな仕事ですか。食事の手伝いです。
What kind of work is it? It’s helping with meals.
ですか
desu ka
is it? (polite question)
です (polite) + か (question). Makes a polite question: “Is it…?/What is it…?”
これは何ですか。
What is this?
Words in this phrase
です
desu
[dess]
is/are (polite)
Polite copula used in formal conversation such as interviews.
どんな仕事ですか。
What kind of work is it?
か
ka
[kah]
question particle
Turns the sentence into a question; often said with rising intonation.
どんな仕事ですか。
What kind of work is it?
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