In Japan there are two types of jobs, regular full-time employees 正社員 (seishain) and contract temporary workers, 派遣社員 (hakenshain). Most teenagers in Japan work part time jobs, this is known as アルバイト (arbaito).
Due to the bad economy, contract and part-time jobs have increased more and more among employees.
Therefore knowing the most common words related to work in Japanese is essential especially when travelling to Japan. Below is a list of kanji that are related to employment and work.
Common Japanese Words Related To Work:
| Kanji | Hiragana/Katakana | Romanji | ||
| 1. | 職業 | しょくぎょう | shoku gyou | Occupation |
| 2. | 医者 | いしゃ | isha | Doctor |
| 3. | 看護婦 | かんごふ | kango fu | Female Nurse |
| 4. | 看護師 | かんごし | kango shi | Nurse |
| 5. | 歯科医 | しかい | shikai | Dentist |
| 6. | 科学者 | かがくしゃ | kagaku sha | Scientist |
| 7. | 美容師 | びようし | biyou shi | Hairdresser / Beauty Artist |
| 8. | 教師 | きょうし | kyoushi | Teacher |
| 9. | 先生 | せんせい | sensei | Teacher |
| 10. | 歌手 | かしゅ | kashu | Singer |
| 11. | 運転手 | うんてんしゅ | unten shu | Driver / Chauffeur |
| 12. | 野球選手 | やきゅうせんしゅ | yakyuu senshu | Baseball Player |
| 13. | サッカー選手 | サッカーせんしゅ | sakka- senshu | Soccer Player |
| 14. | 画家 | がか | gaka | Painter / Artist |
| 15. | 芸術家 | げいじゅつか | geijutsu ka | Artist |
| 16. | 写真家 | しゃしんか | shashin ka | Photographer |
| 17. | 作家 | さっか | sakka | Author / Writer |
| 18. | 演説家 | えんぜつか | enzetsu ka | Speaker / Orator |
| 19. | 演奏家 | えんそうか | ensou ka | Performing Musician |
| 20. | 演出家 | えんしゅつか | enshutsu ka | Producer / Director |
| 21. | 建築家 | けんちくか | kenchiku ka | Architect |
| 22. | 政治家 | せいじか | seiji ka | Politician |
| 23. | 警官 | けいかん | kei kan | Policeman |
| 24. | 警察官 | けいさつかん | keisatsu kan | Policeman |
| 25. | お巡りさん | おまわりさん | omawari san | Policeman (Friendly term) |
| 26. | コック | kokku | Cook | |
| 27. | シェフ | shefu | Chef | |
| 28. | 調理師 | ちょうりし | chouri shi | Cook / Chef |
| 29. | 料理人 | りょうりにん | ryouri nin | Cook / Chef |
| 30. | 料理長 | りょうりちょう | ryouri chou | Head Chef / Master Chef |
| 31. | 裁判官 | さいばんかん | saiban kan | Judge |
| 32. | 弁護士 | べんごし | bengo shi | Lawyer / Attorney |
| 33. | 会計士 | かいけいし | kaikei shi | Accountant |
| 34. | 消防士 | しょうぼうし | shoubou shi | Firefighter / Fireman |
| 35. | 兵士 | へいし | hei shi | Soldier |
| 36. | 銀行員 | ぎんこういん | ginkou in | Bank Employee |
| 37. | 公務員 | こうむいん | koumu in | Civil Servant / Government Worker |
| 38. | 駅員 | えきいん | eki in | Station Worker / Station Attendant |
| 39. | 店員 | てんいん | ten in | Shop Assistant |
| 40. | 会社員 | かいしゃいん | kaisha in | Company Employee |
| 41. | 警備員 | けいびいん | keibi in | Security Guard |
| 42. | 研究員 | けんきゅういん | kenkyuu in | Researcher |
| 43. | 派遣社員 | はけんしゃいん | hakensha in | Temporary Worker |
| 44. | 秘書 | ひしょ | hisho | Secretary |
| 45. | サラリーマン | sarari-man | Salary man / Salaried Employee | |
| 46. | フリーター | furi-ta- | Part-time Worker | |
| 47. | OL | オーエル | o- eru | Office Lady / Female Office Worker |
| 48. | 俳優 | はいゆう | haiyuu | Actor / Performer |
| 49. | 女優 | じょゆう | joyuu | Actress |
| 50. | 役者 | やくしゃ | yakusha | Actor / Actress / Performer |
| 51. | 監督 | かんとく | kantoku | Movie Director |
| 52. | 監督 | かんとく | kantoku | Sport’s Coach |
| 53. | 監督 | かんとく | kantoku | Supervisor / Superintendent |
| 54. | 占い師 | うらないし | uranai shi | Fortuneteller / Diviner |
| 55. | 牧師 | ぼくし | boku shi | Pastor / Clergyman |
| 56. | 漁師 | りょうし | ryou shi | Fisherman |
| 57. | 猟師 | りょうし | ryou shi | Hunter |
| 58. | 理髪師 | りはつし | rihatsu shi | Barber |
| 59. | 散髪屋 | さんぱつや | sanpatsuya | Barber |
| 60. | 床屋 | とこや | tokoya | Barber |
| 61. | 講師 | こうし | kou shi | Lecturer |
| 62. | 技師 | ぎし | gi shi | Engineer / Technologist |
| 63. | 教授 | きょうじゅ | kyouju | Professor |
| 64. | エンジニア | enjinia | Engineer | |
| 65. | 大工 | だいく | daiku | Carpenter |
| 66. | 探偵 | たんてい | tantei | Detective |
| 67. | スチュワーデス | suchuwa-desu | Stewardess / Female Flight Attendant | |
| 68. | パイロット | pairotto | Pilot | |
| 69. | 機長 | きちょう | kichou | Pilot / Plane Captain |
| 70. | 添乗員 | てんじょういん | tenjouin | Tour Conductor / Tour Guide |
| 71. | 不動産業者 | ふどうさんぎょうしゃ | fudousan gyousha | Real Estate Agent |
| 72. | 記者 | きしゃ | kisha | Reporter |
| 73. | ジャーナリスト | ja-narisuto | Journalist | |
| 74. | 農民 | のうみん | noumin | Farmer |
| 75. | 無職者 | むしょくしゃ | mushoku sha | Unemployed Person |
| 76. | リストラ | risutora | Restructure / Corporate Downsizing | |
| 77. | 過労死 | かろうし | karoushi | Death from Overwork |