Translation guide
A person who does menial or boring work for others, often with low status. In Japanese, this is expressed through specific job titles, descriptive phrases, or workplace slang.
He does dogsbody work at the company.
Literally 'anything shop/person'. Implies a jack-of-all-trades who handles various tasks, often menial. Can be slightly more positive than 'dogsbody'.
New employees are used as dogsbodies.
Slang for someone sent on errands (from 走り使い). Often used for the lowest person in a hierarchy, like a school club or office. Has a derogatory nuance.
He's been made into the senior's dogsbody.
Literally 'under-work'. Refers to subordinate, manual labor, often in traditional settings like kitchens or workshops. More about physical grunt work.
He works as a dogsbody in a restaurant.
Emphasizing the hierarchical position of someone who gets all the unwanted tasks.
Means 'the very lowest rank'. Commonly used to describe the person who does all the dirty work.
Since I'm the lowest dogsbody, I always get stuck with the unpleasant tasks.
A regular employee with no title or authority. In context, can imply being treated like a dogsbody compared to managers.
There is no single Japanese word that perfectly matches 'dogsbody'. Using 犬の体 (いぬのからだ) would be nonsense. Choose a term based on the specific nuance: errand-runner (パシリ), odd-job person (雑用係), or low rank (下っ端).
パシリ is informal and often implies being ordered around by a specific person or group, with a negative, sometimes bullying connotation. 雑用係 is more neutral and job-descriptive, simply meaning the person handles miscellaneous tasks.
Regular employees are always assigned dogsbody work.