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Small talk & introductions

How to Say “What Do You Do?” in Turkish

The usual way to say “What do you do?” in Turkish is Ne iş yapıyorsun? It is informal: for friends, family and people your own age. Below are 3 alternatives (formal), how to reply, an example dialogue and the grammar behind it.

In Turkish

Ne iş yapıyorsun?

Literally
“what work are you doing?”
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Informalfor friends, family and people your own age

How Ne iş yapıyorsun? is built

  1. newhat
  2. işwork, job
  3. yap-do, make
  4. -ıyor-present continuous
  5. -sunyou
Grammar guideTurkish Present Continuous Tense (-iyor): Step-by-Step Conjugation Guide →Grammar guideTurkish Personal Pronouns & Verb 'To Be' Suffixes (Ben, Sen, O...) →Grammar guideTurkish Question Words: Ne, Nerede, Nasıl, Kim, Neden & Kaç →Conjugate the verbyapmak (to do, to make) →

Other ways to say “What do you do?”

  • Ne iş yapıyorsunuz?Formal

    “what do you do? (polite)”

    The polite form.

  • Mesleğin ne?Informal

    “what is your profession?”

    Meslek = profession (k → ğ).

  • Nerede çalışıyorsun?Informal

    “where do you work?”

    Asks about the workplace.

How to reply

  • Öğretmenim.

    I’m a teacher.

  • Bir bankada çalışıyorum.

    I work at a bank.

  • Öğrenciyim.

    I’m a student.

Example dialogue

  1. A

    Ne iş yapıyorsun?

    What do you do?

  2. B

    Mühendisim, bir yazılım şirketinde çalışıyorum.

    I’m an engineer; I work at a software company.

Related phrases

All phrases →
I work as a teacherÖğretmen olarak çalışıyorumNeutralI’m a studentÖğrenciyimNeutralWhere do you live?Nerede oturuyorsun?InformalWhat is your name?Adın ne?InformalWhat are your hobbies?Hobilerin neler?Informal

More small talk & introductions

Go deeper

GuideSen vs Siz: Formal and Informal Turkish, Plus Bey, Hanım, Abi and Abla

“What do you do?” in Turkish: FAQ

How do you say “What do you do” in Turkish?

The most common way is Ne iş yapıyorsun? (literally “what work are you doing?”), which is informal: for friends, family and people your own age. You will also hear Ne iş yapıyorsunuz (“what do you do? (polite)”): the polite form.

How do you reply to Ne iş yapıyorsun?

Typical replies are Öğretmenim. (“I’m a teacher.”) and Bir bankada çalışıyorum. (“I work at a bank.”).

What does each part of Ne iş yapıyorsun mean?

ne = what; iş = work, job; yap- = do, make; -ıyor- = present continuous; -sun = you. Turkish uses the present continuous for your current job.

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