How to Say ‘Job (polite)’ in Japanese
お仕事
o shigoto
[oh shee-goh-toh]
💬 Usage Tip: Honorific [お] makes it polite: [仕事] → [お仕事]. Not every word can take [お], but this one often does.
🇯🇵 In Japan: Using [お仕事] is a good default with strangers; with close friends, plain [仕事] is normal.
Phrase Breakdown
お
o
[oh]
honorific prefix (polite)
Adds politeness to certain words. With 仕事 it becomes お仕事, a polite way to refer to someone’s job.
お仕事は何ですか。
What is your job?
仕事
shigoto
[shee-goh-toh]
work; job
Means “work/job.” Combined with お to sound more respectful in conversation.
お仕事は楽しいですか。
Is your job fun?
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