職 — “occupation / job” in Japanese

Grade 5しょく

Radical ⽿ · radical 128 The building block this kanji is filed under

“occupation / job” in Japanese is 職, read shoku (しょく). It is a Grade 5 Kyōiku kanji, taught in year 5 of Japanese elementary school, and appears in words such as 職業 (occupation).

Try it now

What does 職 mean?

Full details, readings & example

Kanji	職
Meaning	occupation / job
Readings	しょく
Grade	Grade 5 (Hard)
Curriculum	Kyōiku kanji · Japanese elementary school
Example	職業 (occupation)

How to read 職

職 is read shoku (しょく) depending on the word.

Words with 職

職人しょくにん
職業
退職
就職
殉職

Learn 職 in real sentences — free

Read stories and news built from only the kanji you already know. KanjiSchool’s path covers all 2,136 Jōyō kanji — 1,018 ready to learn now.

Start free — no credit card →

Kanji read the same way as 職

Same sound, different character — the classic trap. Compare them side by side:

Read this character in a real sentence

Updated: 2026-08-28