School and work days
Collocations, Stage 1chunk 6 of 22Work & school
The daily round, guessable sets first: going to school, going to work, getting off work, being busy with it.
- gakkou ni ikugo to school
- shigoto ni ikugo to work
- shigoto ga owaruget off work
- shigoto ga isogashiibe busy with work
Mix-ups gakkou ni itteru and shigoto ni itteru mean you attend or are there now, not that you're on the way; owaru and isogashii make the work the subject with ga, where English says 'I'.
gakkou ni iku
polite gakkou ni ikimasugo to school
学校に行く がっこうにいく 学校に行きます
verbiku 行くgotypical 25% of gakkou
trap 'I'm going to school' (on the way) isn't gakkou ni itteru, which means you're there now or that you attend it. On the way is ima gakkou iku tochuu (or ima gakkou ni mukatteru), and about to leave is plain: ima kara gakkou iku.
Said about the daily trip and about being a student at all, so you hear itteru a lot: nihongo gakkou itteru (I go to a Japanese language school). Casual speech drops ni, and e also works (gakkou e iku).
saikin nihongo gakkou itteru.
I've been going to a Japanese language school lately.
最近日本語学校行ってる。
saikin nihongo gakkou ni ittemasu.
I've been going to a Japanese language school lately.
最近日本語学校に行ってます。
For a regular routine, kayou also works: juku ni kayotteru.
Same verb: daigaku (university), kaisha (work, the office), juku (cram school), baito (part-time job)Learn alongside: shigoto ni ikuMain list: iku (Stage 1), -teru (Stage 1)
shigoto ni iku
polite shigoto ni ikimasugo to work
仕事に行く しごとにいく 仕事に行きます
verbiku 行くgotypical 3% of shigoto
trap 'He's at work' tempts shigoto ni iru, which doesn't work. He has gone and is there: shigoto itteru or shigoto ni deteru (or shigoto-chuu, in the middle of work).
Said about the daily trip: ja, shigoto itte kuru (I'm off to work). itteru is the state, 'they're at work': papa wa shigoto itteru. Casual speech drops ni.
ima kara shigoto iku.
I'm heading off to work now.
今から仕事行く。
ima kara shigoto ni ikimasu.
I'm heading off to work now.
今から仕事に行きます。
Coming back is shigoto kara kaeru; on the way home is shigoto no kaeri.
Same verb: paato (part-time job), renshuu (practice, training), nomikai (work drinks)Learn alongside: gakkou ni ikuMain list: iku (Stage 1), -teru (Stage 1), -te kuru (Stage 4)
shigoto ga owaru
polite shigoto ga owarimasuget off work
仕事が終わる しごとがおわる 仕事が終わります
verbowaru 終わるend, be over (the thing itself finishes)typical 3% of shigoto
trap English makes you the subject ('I finish work'), which tempts o with a transitive verb (shigoto o owaraseru means getting a job done). For clocking off, the work itself ends: shigoto ga owaru, so 'I'm done' is shigoto owatta.
Said when making plans around someone's workday: shigoto nanji ni owaru? Once you're done, you say shigoto owatta. Casual speech usually drops ga.
kyou shigoto nanji ni owaru?
What time do you get off work today?
今日仕事何時に終わる？
kyou wa shigoto nanji ni owarimasu ka?
What time do you finish work today?
今日は仕事何時に終わりますか？
Leaving the building is kaisha o deru. The stiffer transitive is shigoto o oeru. Among coworkers, clocking off is also agaru: kyou nanji ni agaru?
Same verb: gakkou (school), jugyou (class), kaigi (meeting), baito (part-time job)Main list: owaru (Stage 4), otsukare (Stage 1)
shigoto ga isogashii
polite shigoto ga isogashii desube busy with work
仕事が忙しい しごとがいそがしい 仕事が忙しいです
adjectiveisogashii 忙しいbusy (a person, their work or schedule)typical <1% of shigoto
trap English 'busy' also covers crowds and phone lines. A shop packed with customers, from the customer's side, is konderu (mise ga komu); mise ga isogashii is how the staff put it. A busy phone line is hanashi-chuu.
The standard reply to saikin dou? and the standard excuse: shigoto isogashikute (work's been busy, so...). Casual speech drops ga, and shigoto de isogashii means the same.
saikin shigoto isogashikute, zenzen yasumenai.
Work's been so busy lately, I never get a break.
最近仕事忙しくて、全然休めない。
saikin shigoto ga isogashikute, zenzen yasumemasen.
Work's been so busy lately, I never get a break.
最近仕事が忙しくて、全然休めません。
The usual reply to someone's busy spell: taihen da ne.
Same adjective: baito (part-time job), benkyou (studying), gakkou (school)Learn alongside: shigoto ga hairu, jikan ga aku (Stage 3), yotei ga aru (Stage 3), tsugou ga ii (Stage 3), tsugou ga warui (Stage 3), youji ga aru (Stage 3), yotei ga hairu (Stage 3), sen'yaku ga aru (Stage 3)Main list: isogashii (Stage 3), saikin (Stage 3), -kute / -de (Stage 1), zenzen (Stage 4), taihen (Stage 3)