What is the difference between "働きます", "仕事する", "息が合う", "仕掛品"?

"働きます" means "to work", "仕事する" means "to work; to do work", "息が合う" means "to work well together", "仕掛品" means "work in process (WIP)".

Quadruple VS

Synonym Boundary: "働きます", "仕事する", "息が合う", "仕掛品"

All represent the core concept "work", but require precise selection.

Japanese Option A

働きます

はたらきます (hatarakimasu)

N5 / CEFR

Japanese Option B

仕事する

しごとする (shigoto suru)

N4 / CEFR

Japanese Option C

息が合う

いきがあう (ikigaau)

B2 / CEFR

Japanese Option D

仕掛品

しかかりひん (shikakarihin)

C2 / CEFR

Quadruple VS Nuance Contrast & Social Differences

When expressing "work" in Japanese, you must carefully distinguish between "働きます", "仕事する", "息が合う", "仕掛品" based on context.

働きます (はたらきます (hatarakimasu) - Level: N5): Maps to "to work" and is used when Polite form of 働く.
仕事する (しごとする (shigoto suru) - Level: N4): Maps to "to work; to do work" and is used when A very common verb used for performing a job or task, often implying employment. It combines the noun '仕事'.
息が合う (いきがあう (ikigaau) - Level: B2): Maps to "to work well together" and is used when Essential structural term in CEFR B2 vocabulary syllabus..
仕掛品 (しかかりひん (shikakarihin) - Level: C2): Maps to "work in process (WIP)" and is used when Essential structural term in CEFR C2 vocabulary syllabus..

Mixing these up can easily lead to unnatural translations. Refer to the bilingual context cards below to master the boundaries!

Context for "働きます"

私は毎日8時間働きます。

I work 8 hours every day.

Context for "仕事する"

私は毎日会社で仕事をします。

I work at the company every day.

Context for "息が合う"

毎日、日本語を練習するために息が合う。

Every day, I work well together to practice Japanese.

Context for "仕掛品"

私は仕掛品に興味があります。

I am interested in work in process (WIP).

Synonym Mastery Challenge

Which Japanese word perfectly fits this blank space?

Fill in the blank: "私は毎日8時間＿＿＿。" (Meaning: "I work 8 hours every day.")

🎉 Correct Answer!

Remember: "働きます" is correct here because it represents "to work" in the context: "I work 8 hours every day.".