Translation guide
The English word "duties" covers a range of responsibilities, tasks, and obligations. In Japanese, the best translation depends on whether you mean work tasks, moral obligations, legal responsibilities, or official roles. This guide helps you choose the most natural expression for each situation.
Referring to the specific tasks or functions that are part of a job or role.
The most common and general word for work or tasks. It can refer to both the job itself and the duties involved.
My duty is to analyze data.
A more formal term for business duties or official tasks. Often used in professional or administrative contexts.
He was assigned new duties.
Refers to a mission or assigned duty, often with a sense of purpose or responsibility. Common in military, police, or organizational contexts.
His duty is to guard the facility.
Means role or part, emphasizing the function one plays in a group or project. It implies duties associated with that role.
My duty in the team is schedule management.
Expressing a sense of duty based on ethics, customs, or personal principles.
The standard word for duty in the sense of moral, legal, or social obligation. It implies something you must do.
Parents have a duty to protect their children.
Means responsibility. It is often used interchangeably with duty when emphasizing accountability.
Refers to one's duty or calling in a more philosophical or traditional sense. It is less common in everyday speech.
Duties imposed by law, regulations, or official positions.
Refers to official duties or functions of a position, especially in public service or corporate roles.
The police officer carried out his duties.
A formal term combining responsibility and duty, often used in legal or official documents.
Referring to tariffs or taxes on imported goods.
The specific term for customs duties or tariffs.
High duties are imposed on this product.
義務 (gimu) is a duty imposed from outside (law, morality), while 責任 (sekinin) is responsibility you take on yourself. 義務 is something you must do; 責任 is something you are accountable for.
Paying taxes is a citizen's duty.
He took responsibility for the failure.
While 義務 can mean duty, it sounds too heavy for everyday job tasks. Use 仕事 or 業務 instead when talking about what you do at work.
それは私の責任です。
That is my duty.
彼は自分の本分を果たした。
He fulfilled his duty.
Directors have many duties.