What does “shigoto” mean in Japanese?
Native speakers say “shigoto” to mean ‘work’, ‘job’, ‘business’, ‘task’, or perhaps ‘occupation’ in Japanese. Probably, many Japanese learners know this word well as it is quite often used in Japanese conversations. In this blog post, however, I will explain this word in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I will explain how to use it through example sentences. My explanations would help Japanese learners to understand “shigoto” more clearly. Then, let’s get started!
Contents
Definition and meanings of “shigoto”
Let me start with the definition and meanings of “shigoto”.
- shigoto – 仕事 (しごと) : a noun meaning ‘work’, ‘job’, ‘business’, ‘task’, or ‘occupation’ in Japanese.
Native speakers use this noun normally to mean ‘work’ in Japanese. Depending on the context and situation, however, this can also mean ‘job’, ‘business’, ‘task’, or ‘occupation’.
The definition and meanings are not so difficult, I think. To understand this noun more clearly, however, let me explain its kanji characters in detail, one by one.
Shigoto in kanji
The kanji expression of “shigoto” consists of the following two characters:
- 仕 : a kanji character used to mean ‘to do’, ‘to support’, or ‘to work’ in Japanese.
- 事 : a kanji character used to mean ‘thing’, ‘matter’, ‘affair’, or ‘event’ in Japanese. When this follows a phrase or sentence, however, this can work to make a noun clause. In this regard, the role of this kanji is similar to those of the English words like “what” and “that”. Word orders in Japanese and English are different, though.
From these two kanji characters, we can understand that “shigoto” literally means ‘a thing to do’. This literal interpretation seems to be very close to the actual meanings.
When we meet new kanji expressions, we should check their kanji characters in detail to understand their meanings clearly and deeply. In many cases, kanji characters tell us a lot about the meanings of the expressions they form. Actually, here, we could get the better understanding of “shigoto” through the detailed kanji check above.
So far, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “shigoto” and its kanji expression in detail. Then, let me explain how to use it through the example sentences below.
Example #1: how to say “I have work tomorrow” in Japanese
watashi wa ashita shigoto desu – 私は明日仕事です (わたしはあしたしごとです)
I have work tomorrow.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- watashi – 私 (わたし) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese.
- wa – は : a binding particle working as a case marker or topic marker. In the example, this works after “watashi” to make the subject in the sentence.
- ashita – 明日 (あした) : a noun meaning ‘tomorrow’ in Japanese. This can also work as an adverb almost anywhere in a sentence. In the example, this works as an adverb to say “tomorrow”.
- desu – です : an auxiliary verb used after a noun or adjective to make it polite. Probably, this is well known as a part of Japanese desu form. In the example, this is used after “shigoto” to make it sound polite.
This is a typical usage of “shigoto”. In this example, it works as a part of the widely-used expression, “ashita shigoto desu”, which means ‘to have work tomorrow’ in Japanese. When we want to say “work” in Japanese, anyway, this noun is a very good option.
Example #2: another usage of “shigoto”
boku wa shigoto ga suki desu – 僕は仕事が好きです (ぼくはしごとがすきです)
I love my job.
Below are the new words used in the example sentence.
- boku – 僕 (ぼく) : a pronoun meaning ‘I’ in Japanese. This is used mainly by boys and young males.
- ga – が : a case particle used to make the subject word or the object word in a sentence. In the example, this is used after “shigoto” to make the object in the sentence.
- suki – 好き (すき) : one conjugation of the na-adjective, “sukina”, which means ‘favorite’ in Japanese. Native speakers, however, often use this as an individual word to mean ‘to like’ or ‘to love’ in Japanese. In the example, this is used to mean ‘to love’.
This is another typical usage of “shigoto”. In this example, it means ‘my job’ in Japanese. The possessive case, “my”, can be understood from the context.
Summary
In this blog post, I’ve explained the definition and meanings of “shigoto” in detail based on its kanji expression. And also, I’ve explained how to use it through the example sentences. Let me summarize them as follows.
- shigoto – 仕事 (しごと) : a noun meaning ‘work’, ‘job’, ‘business’, ‘task’, or ‘occupation’ in Japanese. Native speakers use this noun normally to mean ‘work’ in Japanese. Depending on the context and situation, however, this can also mean ‘job’, ‘business’, ‘task’, or ‘occupation’. These two kanji characters literally mean ‘a thing to do’. This kanji concept seems to be very close to the actual meanings.
Hope my explanations are understandable and helpful for Japanese learners.
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