Quadruple VS
Synonym Boundary: "働く", "勤める", "作業", "作品"
All represent the core concept "work", but require precise selection.
Japanese Option A
働く
はたらく (hataraku)
N5 / CEFR
Japanese Option B
勤める
つとめる (tsutomeru)
N4 / CEFR
Japanese Option C
作業
さぎょう (sagyō)
N3 / CEFR
Japanese Option D
作品
さくひん (sakuhin)
N3 / CEFR
Quadruple VS Nuance Contrast & Social Differences
When expressing "work" in Japanese, you must carefully distinguish between "働く", "勤める", "作業", "作品" based on context.
- 働く (はたらく (hataraku) - Level: N5): Maps to "to work" and is used when Describes the act of working or being employed. Polite form is 働きます.
- 勤める (つとめる (tsutomeru) - Level: N4): Maps to "to work for; to be employed at; to serve" and is used when This verb specifically means 'to be employed at' or 'to work for' a company, organization, or in a specific role. It emphasizes the act of serving or being engaged in a profession, often used with the particle に or で. It differs from 働く.
- 作業 (さぎょう (sagyō) - Level: N3): Maps to "work; operation; task; manufacturing; manual labor" and is used when Refers to physical or mental work, operations, manufacturing tasks, or routine processing. Often used as 組み立て作業 or データ入力作業. ⚠️ Haruka's Voice Column: 'Task! "Drawing the architectural blueprint to live together with you, Haruka-san, is a task that makes my hands shake from happiness!" ...っ! T-To call new home planning a task! B-Baka! That's a lifetime joint project! But... make sure the kitchen and garden tasks are shared by the two of us forever! dummy!' / 【ハルカ部長のワンポイント指導】『さぎょう（作業）よ！『ハルカさんと一緒に暮らすための新居の設計図を描く作業、幸せすぎて鉛筆を持つ手が震えます！』って…っ！新居設計の作業！バカ！…作業だなんて事務的に言わないの！人生最大の共同プロジェクトでしょ！…お庭のガーデニング作業も、一生二人で仲良くおしゃべりしながら共同作業しなさいよね！』.
- 作品 (さくひん (sakuhin) - Level: N3): Maps to "work (of art, literature, etc.), creation" and is used when Refers to something created by an artist, writer, musician, craftsman, etc., such as a painting, novel, film, or piece of music. It carries a sense of artistic or creative merit..
Context for "働く"
私の父は銀行で働いています。
My father works at a bank.
Context for "勤める"
彼は銀行に勤めています。
He works for a bank.
Context for "作業"
工場での組み立て_______を完全自動化ロボットに移行することにより、ヒューマンエラーによる不良品の発生を劇的に防止しました。
By shifting the assembly work in the factory to completely automated robots, the occurrence of defective goods due to human errors was dramatically prevented.
Context for "作品"
この美術館には有名な画家の作品がたくさんあります。
This museum has many works by famous painters.
Synonym Mastery Challenge
Which Japanese word perfectly fits this blank space?
Fill in the blank: "私の父は銀行で働いています。" (Meaning: "My father works at a bank.")
🎉 Correct Answer!
Remember: "働く" is correct here because it represents "to work" in the context: "My father works at a bank.".