How work is going
Conversation phrases, Stage 1chunk 31 of 68Small talk
Check in on someone's job, the default catch-up topic.
- shigoto dou?how's work?
- shigoto nani shiteru no?what do you do for work?
- zangyou ooi?do you do a lot of overtime?
Mix-ups shigoto nani shiteru no asks what job; shigoto dou asks how it's going.
shigoto dou?
polite oshigoto wa dou desu ka?
how's work?
A standard catch-up question for a friend or colleague you haven't seen in a while.
Typical answers are maa maa ('so-so') or bochibochi ('getting by').
hisashiburi! shigoto dou? isogashii?
Long time no see! How's work? Busy?
久しぶり！仕事どう？忙しい？
ohisashiburi desu. oshigoto wa dou desu ka?
It's been a while. How's work?
お久しぶりです。お仕事はどうですか？
Written 仕事どう？ · しごとどう？ · お仕事はどうですか？Who you say it and hear itHeard 7× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
shigoto nani shiteru no?
polite oshigoto wa nani o sarete imasu ka?
what do you do for work?
Asked when getting to know someone; people often answer by field, like kyouiku kankei (something in education).
hee, toukyou ni sunderu n da. shigoto nani shiteru no?
Oh, you live in Tokyo? What do you do for work?
へえ、東京に住んでるんだ。仕事何してるの？
shitsurei desu kedo, oshigoto wa nani o sarete imasu ka?
If you don't mind me asking, what do you do for work?
失礼ですけど、お仕事は何をされていますか？
Written 仕事何してるの？ · しごとなにしてるの？ · お仕事は何をされていますか？Who you say it and hear itHeard 38× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitles
zangyou ooi?
polite zangyou wa ooi desu ka?
do you do a lot of overtime?
Common work small talk; long hours are a normal thing to grumble about.
Zangyou suru is to work overtime; kyou mo zangyou is 'overtime again today'.
ima no kaisha, zangyou ooi?
Do you do a lot of overtime at your company?
今の会社、残業多い？
ima no kaisha wa zangyou ga ooi desu ka?
Is there a lot of overtime at your company?
今の会社は残業が多いですか？
Written 残業多い？ · ざんぎょうおおい？ · 残業は多いですか？Who you say it and hear itHeard too rare in film subtitles to count