働く
はたらく · hataraku
To work, to labor, to labour
- to function, to operate, to be effective, to work (i.e. ... works), to come into play
- to commit (e.g. a crime), to perpetrate, to do, to act, to practise, to practice
- to be conjugated
Other ways to say “to work” in Japanese →
flat · what is pitch accent?
Example sentences
五時まで働く。
ごじまではたらく。
I work until five o'clock.
Nihoner sentence bank
午後五時まで図書館で働く。
ごごごじまでとしょかんではたらく。
I work at the library until 5 PM.
Nihoner sentence bank
この業界で働くを希望しています。
このぎょうかいではたらくをきぼうしています。
I hope to work in this industry.
Nihoner sentence bank
私は朝から働くことができます。
わたしは あさから はたらく ことが できます。
I can work from the morning.
Nihoner sentence bank
Say it out loud
Press the microphone and say 働く (はたらく)
Your browser’s speech recognition checks whether it understood you (in Chrome, Google processes the audio). Nihoner doesn’t record anything.
Do you really know it?
Learn its family in 60 seconds
4 words that share a kanji with 働く. Tap each card — then save only the ones that are new to you.
Your memory hook
Link the sound or the kanji to something you already know — a personal hook is one of the fastest ways to make a word stick. It’s saved to your free account with the word.
Kanji in this word
Can you write it? Draw kanji from memory →
Conjugation
| Polite (ます形) | 働きますはたらきます |
| Polite negative (ません) | 働きませんはたらきません |
| Polite past (ました) | 働きましたはたらきました |
| Polite past negative (ませんでした) | 働きませんでしたはたらきませんでした |
| Let us ~ (ましょう) | 働きましょうはたらきましょう |
| Masu-stem (連用形) | 働きはたらき |
| Want to ~ (たい形) | 働きたいはたらきたい |
| While ~ing (ながら) | 働きながらはたらきながら |
| Te-form (て形) | 働いてはたらいて |
| Plain past (た形) | 働いたはたらいた |
| Tara-conditional (たら形) | 働いたらはたらいたら |
| Progressive (ている形) | 働いているはたらいている |
| Plain negative (ない形) | 働かないはたらかない |
| Plain past negative (なかった形) | 働かなかったはたらかなかった |
| Negative te-form (なくて) | 働かなくてはたらかなくて |
| Potential (可能形) | 働けるはたらける |
| Ba-conditional (条件形) | 働けばはたらけば |
| Imperative (命令形) | 働けはたらけ |
| Volitional (意向形) | 働こうはたらこう |
| Passive (受身形) | 働かれるはたらかれる |
| Causative (使役形) | 働かせるはたらかせる |
| Causative-passive (使役受身形) | 働かされるはたらかされる |
Practise every form in the Conjugation Dojo →
Words that share a kanji
Questions
What does 働く mean?
To work, to labor, to labour. It can also mean: to function, to operate, to be effective, to work (i.e. ... works), to come into play; to commit (e.g. a crime), to perpetrate, to do, to act, to practise, to practice; to be conjugated.
How do you pronounce 働く?
はたらく (hataraku). Pitch accent: heiban — flat. Press Listen above to hear it.
What JLPT level is 働く?
JLPT N5 — beginner. See the JLPT N5 guide.
How do I remember 働く?
Say it out loud with an example sentence, test yourself above, then save it to your deck: Nihoner brings it back just before you would forget it (spaced repetition).
Save your words
Create a free account and they will be waiting in your review deck — Nihoner brings each one back right before you would forget it.
Free · no card · your words are kept