Usage patterns 〈 事こと 〉 を 稼か 業ぎょう とする to make something one's trade/occupation
He has made the pottery craft passed down through generations his trade.
稼か 業ぎょう を 営いとな む to run a trade/business
He runs a small fishing trade.
稼か 業ぎょう から 足あし を 洗あら う to quit a (often disreputable) trade or line of work
He finally quit his shady line of work for good.
Kanji 稼 earnings, work, earn money 業 business, vocation, arts Related words 仕事 is the everyday, neutral word for work or job, while 稼業 is a more formal, old-fashioned term for one's trade or means of livelihood.
職業 is a neutral, official term for occupation used on forms and in formal contexts, whereas 稼業 emphasizes the trade or calling by which one earns a living.
生業 is a literary word for one's means of livelihood, close in nuance to 稼業 but even more formal and often used in written or poetic contexts.
稼業 often refers to a family's or one's own trade as a means of livelihood, sharing 商売 's colloquial 'line of work' sense but sounding slightly more old-fashioned.
Word family popular occupation; occupation dependent on public favor
acting career; stage career
professional thievery; thieving as a trade
making a living in the red-light district
peddling trade; hawking business
precarious trade; unstable occupation; itinerant trade
Etymology Compound of 稼 (ka, 'earning') + 業 (gyō, 'work, profession'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the spelling is conventionally associated with the meaning of a trade or occupation for earning a living.
Report an issue with this page
Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
