Jobs in Italian: Che Lavoro Fai? Sono Insegnante, Sono Medico
A0 · Lesson 17 · Jobs
Say what you do for a living in three words, with no “a” and no stress.
Quick answer
To ask about jobs in Italian, say Che lavoro fai? (to a friend) or Che lavoro fa? (polite). Answer with Sono + job and no “a”: Sono medico, Sono insegnante. Many jobs change for a woman: cameriere → cameriera.
Che lavoro fai? Asking about jobs in Italian
Three questions, one meaning. Pick the one that fits the person.
Che lavoro fai?
keh lah-VOH-roh FAH-ee
What do you do? (to a friend)
InformalChe lavoro fa?
keh lah-VOH-roh FAH
What do you do? (polite, to a stranger)
PoliteChe fai nella vita?
keh FAH-ee NEHL-lah VEE-tah
What do you do in life? The friendly, chatty way.
InformalLavoro (lah-VOH-roh) = work, job. You will hear these questions at every dinner party in Italy, usually right after Di dove sei?
Sono medico: your job with no “a”
💡 In simple words
English: I’m a doctor. → Italian: Sono medico.
No “a”, no “un”, no “una”. Just Sono + job.
It works like your nationality: Sono americana. Sono infermiera.
The no-“a” rule
- 1Sono medico. (SOH-noh MEH-dee-koh) · I’m a doctor. Not Sono un medico.
- 2Sono insegnante. (SOH-noh een-seh-NYAHN-teh) · I’m a teacher.
- 3Faccio l’insegnante. (FAHT-choh leen-seh-NYAHN-teh) · I’m a teacher. Learn it as one block: here the little l’ is part of the phrase.
Jobs in -o: impiegato, impiegata
Jobs in -o work just like nationalities: -o for a man, -a for a woman.
Medico (MEH-dee-koh, doctor) and avvocato (lawyer): the standard form is masculine, also for a woman: Sono medico, Sono avvocato. The feminine medica / avvocata is also accepted.
Jobs in -ere: cameriere, cameriera
Jobs in -ere become -era for a woman.
Jobs in -ante: insegnante for everyone
Jobs in -ante and -ente are the same for a man and a woman. Nothing to change. (Like inglese!)
One famous exception: studente (stoo-DEHN-teh) for a man, studentessa (stoo-dehn-TEHS-sah) for a woman.
Retired or studying? Sono in pensione
Not working right now? You still have an answer.
Sono in pensione.
SOH-noh een pehn-SYOH-neh
I’m retired. Same for a man and a woman.
RetiredSono studente.
SOH-noh stoo-DEHN-teh
I’m a student. (a woman: Sono studentessa)
StudentChange the words
Sono insegnante.
SOH-noh een-seh-NYAHN-teh · I’m a teacher.
Swap the job: impiegata cameriere avvocato in pensione
In real life: chatting with the waiter
Marco
waiter
Buonasera! Che lavoro fa?
Good evening! What do you do? (polite)
you
Sono impiegato. E Lei?
I’m an office worker. And you?
Marco
waiter
Sono cameriere, qui!
I’m a waiter, here!
you
Ah, certo!
Oh, of course!
A woman playing “you” says Sono impiegata.
Common mistakes English speakers make
Sono un medico. → Sono medico.
No “a” before a job after sono.
Kate è cameriere. → Kate è cameriera.
A woman: -ere becomes -era.
Sono retired. → Sono in pensione.
Retired = in pensione.
A woman: Sono insegnanta. → Sono insegnante.
-ante never changes.
A woman: Sono studente. → Sono studentessa.
studente → studentessa.
Did you know? The dottore surprise
🎓 Everyone is a dottore
In Italy anyone with a university degree can be called Dottore (doht-TOH-reh) or Dottoressa (doht-toh-REHS-sah), not only doctors!
💬 Che fai nella vita?
The friendly way to ask about someone’s job. Answer simply: Sono insegnante or Faccio l’insegnante.
Got a degree? In an Italian office, you might be called Dottore by lunchtime.
Che lavoro faccio? Sono in pensione. Since birth.
Step 9 · Practice
🍕 Your turn
Start with a quick warm-up, then press Check. Want more? Open the extra exercises below. Mistakes are part of it. No pressure.
Warm-up · 5 questions
Choose the right sentence.
1. “I’m a doctor.”
2. Kate works in a restaurant. Kate è ___.
3. Ask a friend about his job:
4. Laura teaches. Laura è ___.
5. Your grandpa doesn’t work anymore:
See more exercises · 35 questions ▾Hide the extra exercises ▴
1 · Man or woman?
Choose the form that matches the person.
1. Paolo works in a restaurant. Paolo è ___.
2. Anna works in a hospital. Anna è ___.
3. Luca works in a hospital. Luca è ___.
4. Sara works in an office. Sara è ___.
5. Marco works in an office. Marco è ___.
6. Marta works in a restaurant. Marta è ___.
7. Elena goes to university. Elena è ___.
8. Tom goes to university. Tom è ___.
9. Mina sings. Mina è ___.
10. Roberto teaches. Roberto è ___.
2 · Right or wrong?
Is the sentence correct?
1. “Sono insegnante.”
2. “Sono un cameriere.”
3. “Faccio l’insegnante.”
4. Kate: “Sono cameriere.”
5. Maria: “Sono infermiera.”
6. “Sono in pensione.”
7. Laura: “Sono insegnanta.”
8. To a stranger, politely: “Che lavoro fa?”
3 · What do you say?
Choose the best sentence for the situation.
1. You ask an older lady on the train about her job.
2. You chat with a new friend at a party.
3. You are a woman and you work in an office.
4. You stopped working last year.
5. You teach English. Another way to say it:
6. You are a man and you work in a hospital (not a doctor).
7. Someone calls your boss “Dottor Rossi”. He…
4 · Write it in Italian
Type the sentence. Capital letters and punctuation don’t matter.
1. I’m a teacher.
2. I’m a doctor.
3. I’m a waitress.
4. I’m a nurse. (a man)
5. I’m an office worker. (a woman)
6. I’m retired.
7. I’m a student. (a woman)
8. What do you do? (to a friend)
9. What do you do? (polite)
10. I’m a lawyer. (a man)
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Ci vediamo la prossima settimana! – Sì, alla prossima lezione! Ciao!
See you next week! – Yes, see you at the next lesson! Bye!
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Written by Luciana
Native Italian teacher, CEDILS certified, 10,000+ lessons since 2020.
