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How to Say ‘What kind of work do you do?’ in Japanese

どんなお仕事ですか?

donna o shigoto desu ka

[dohn-nah oh shee-goh-toh dess kah]

💬 Usage Tip: どんな "what kind of" goes right before a noun. For example, どんな会社ですか? "What kind of company is it?"

Phrase Breakdown

どんな

donna

[dohn-nah]

what kind of

Used to ask for the type or nature of something.

Example

どんな感じですかと質問してみました。

I tried asking, 'What is it like?'

お

o

[oh]

honorific/polite prefix

A polite prefix that makes a word sound more refined or respectful.

Example

おすすめのおは、ことばを丁寧にします。

The o in osusume makes the word more polite.

仕事

shigoto

[shee-goh-toh]

work; job

Refers to work, occupation, or a job role; common in business and career conversations.

Example

今は営業の仕事をしています。

Right now I work in sales.

です

desu

[dess]

is; polite copula

A polite sentence ending used in formal conversation.

Example

少し伺いたいです。

I would like to ask a little.

か

ka

[kah]

question marker

Placed at the end of a sentence to make it a question.

Example

A席はありますか。

Are there A seats available?

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