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A2How to saykem vy rabótayete

How to say “What do you do?” in Russian

Russian asks “as whom do you work”, and the answer is in the instrumental case.

Quick answer

Кем вы рабо́таете?

kem vy rabótayete — literally “as whom do you work” — instrumental, always

The options

Кем вы рабо́таете?What do you do? — polite
Кем ты рабо́таешь?What do you do? — informal
Где вы рабо́таете?Where do you work?
Чем вы занима́етесь?What do you do? — broader, also for studies or hobbies
Я рабо́таю инжене́ром.I work as an engineer.

The instrumental answer

The profession takes the instrumental: инжене́ром, учи́телем, врачо́м, юри́стом, программи́стом, ме́неджером. Feminine words work the same way: учи́тельницей, медсестро́й.

Чем занима́етесь?

This is the softer, wider question. It covers a job, a degree or a business, and is the safer choice with someone whose situation you do not know. Answer with Я занима́юсь + instrumental, or simply say what you do.

What you hear back

Я врач.I’m a doctor. — nominative is fine as a bare answer
Рабо́таю в ба́нке.I work at a bank.
Я на пе́нсии.I’m retired.
Сейча́с в по́иске.I’m job-hunting at the moment.

Typical mistakes

Я рабо́таю инжене́р.

Я рабо́таю инжене́ром.

рабо́тать + instrumental.

Что вы рабо́таете?

Кем вы рабо́таете?

The question word is кем — “as whom”.

Check yourself

Я рабо́таю ___. — I work as a teacher.

Рабо́тать takes the instrumental.

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