働く expresses working. The examples use polite everyday Japanese.
The idea
働く is a godan verb. 働きます is polite non-past, 働きません negative, 働きました past and 働いて the て-form. で marks the place where work happens; から can mark the starting time. In these uses the verb is intransitive.
| Dictionary form | Polite non-past | Polite negative | Polite past | て-form | Plain negative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 働く | 働きます | 働きません | 働きました | 働いて | 働かない |
Examples
- 父は病院で働いています。My father works at a hospital.
- 毎日、九時から働きます。I start work at nine every day.
- 昨日は家で働きました。Yesterday I worked at home.
- 日曜日は働きません。I do not work on Sundays.
- 姉は店で働いています。My older sister works at a shop.
- 今日は遅くまで働きます。I will work until late today.
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Watch out
働いています can describe someone’s regular job, not only work happening at this instant.
Try it yourself
Choose the particle in brackets. 病院＿働きます。（で／を）
Show answer or example answer
で
で is correct. で marks the place where work happens; から can mark the starting time.
Complete the ending to make the verb’s て-form. 九時から働＿、六時に帰ります。（働く→て）
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いて
いて completes 働いて. 働いて is the て-form of 働く; it joins actions or precedes ください in a request.
Complete the ending to make the polite past. 昨日、家で働＿。（働く→ました）
Show answer or example answer
きました
きました completes 働きました. 働きました is the polite past of 働く; 昨日 places the event yesterday.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Japanese sentences where available. We keep your score.
Choose the particle in brackets. 病院＿働きます。（で／を）
Complete the ending to make the verb’s て-form. 九時から働＿、六時に帰ります。（働く→て）
Complete the ending to make the polite past. 昨日、家で働＿。（働く→ました）
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Adapt an example with 働く to your own life, then put it into the polite past. Check the particle and verb form.