How to Say ‘What kind of work do you do now?’ in Japanese
いま、どんな仕事をしていますか。
ima donna shigoto o shi te i masu ka
[ee-mah dohn-nah shee-goh-toh oh shee teh ee mahss kah]
💬 Usage Tip: [いま] + [どんな仕事をしていますか] emphasizes “currently,” useful if someone changed jobs recently.
🇯🇵 In Japan: Job changes are more common than before, so clarifying “now” ([いま]) can feel considerate and accurate.
Phrase Breakdown
いま
ima
[ee-mah]
now; at the moment
Sets the time as ‘currently’. Often used in job/interview context: ‘What are you doing now (for work)?’
いま、何をしていますか。
What are you doing now?
どんな仕事
donna shigoto
what kind of job/work
「どんな」 + 「仕事」 asks about the type/field of work (not the company name).
どんな仕事がしたいですか。
What kind of work do you want to do?
Words in this phrase
どんな
donna
[dohn-nah]
what kind of; what sort of
Asks for the type/nature of the job (e.g., sales, engineering, teaching).
いま、どんな仕事をしていますか。
What kind of work are you doing now?
仕事
shigoto
[shee-goh-toh]
work; job; occupation
Refers to your job/occupation; can also mean tasks at work.
いま、仕事が忙しいです。
Work is busy right now.
を
o
[oh]
object marker (marks what is acted on)
Marks 仕事 as the object of しています.
どんな仕事をしていますか。
What kind of work do you do?
しています
shi te i masu
am doing / are doing (ongoing)
ている-form + ます: polite present progressive/ongoing state. From する → している → しています.
いま電話しています。
I’m on the phone right now.
Words in this phrase
し
shi
[shee]
do (polite, as part of ‘〜しています’)
From する; together with ています expresses ‘(be) doing’.
いま仕事をしています。
I’m working now.
て
te
[teh]
(te-form marker)
Used to build the continuous form: している.
いま仕事をしています。
I’m working now.
い
i
[ee]
to be; to exist (for living things)
From いる; in ています indicates an ongoing action or state.
いま会社にいます。
I’m at the office now.
ます
masu
[mahss]
(polite verb ending)
Polite style ending; very common when asking questions to someone you don’t know well.
いま何をしていますか。
What are you doing now?
か
ka
[kah]
question marker; ‘?’
Makes it a question; often accompanied by rising intonation.
いま、どんな仕事をしていますか。
What kind of work are you doing now?
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