Translation guide
A person who makes things from wood, especially as a craft or trade. In Japanese, the term depends on the type of woodworking, from fine joinery to carpentry.
A person who works with wood to create furniture, art, or structures, often as a skilled trade.
General term for woodworking or a woodworker. Can refer to the craft itself or the person, though often used in compounds.
彼は木工の職人です。
He is a woodworker.
Specifically a woodworking craftsman. Emphasizes skill and traditional craftsmanship.
木工職人が家具を作っています。
The woodworker is making furniture.
A cabinetmaker or joiner specializing in fine woodwork, especially furniture and intricate joinery without nails.
指物師が美しい箪笥を作りました。
The woodworker made a beautiful chest of drawers.
A woodturner or base-wood craftsman who shapes wooden cores for lacquerware or other items.
木地師が椀の形を削り出します。
The woodworker carves out the shape of the bowl.
A person who builds or repairs wooden structures, such as houses or frameworks.
The standard term for a carpenter in construction. Often associated with building houses and wooden frameworks.
大工さんが家を建てています。
The carpenter is building a house.
A master carpenter specializing in traditional temples and shrines, using ancient joinery techniques.
A joiner who makes doors, windows, and other wooden fittings for buildings.
A person who carves decorative or artistic objects from wood.
A woodcarver or wood sculptor, often as an artist.
木彫家が仏像を彫っています。
The woodcarver is carving a Buddha statue.
Similar to 木彫家 but may imply a more traditional or religious context.
木彫師が欄間を彫刻します。
The woodcarver carves the transom panel.
木工 (もっこう) is a broader term for woodworking as a craft, while 大工 (だいく) specifically refers to a carpenter in construction. If you're talking about someone who builds houses, use 大工; for furniture or art, use 木工職人 or more specific terms.
It's common and polite to add さん after trade names like 大工さん or 職人さん when referring to someone respectfully.
宮大工が神社を修復しています。
The temple carpenter is restoring the shrine.
The joiner makes sliding paper doors.