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trabajo

tra-BA-hotɾaˈβaxo

“trabajo” means “work” in Spanish. It has 2 different meanings depending on context:

work, job

Also: paper, piece of work
NounmA1
Mexico & parts of Central America
A person sitting at a desk in a bright office, focused on their work on a laptop, representing the concept of a job or work.

📝 In Action

Tengo mucho trabajo esta semana.

A1

I have a lot of work this week.

Mi hermano encontró un nuevo trabajo.

A2

My brother found a new job.

El trabajo de historia es para el viernes.

B1

The history paper is due on Friday.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • empleo (employment, job)
  • labor (labor, task)
  • ocupación (occupation)

Antonyms

Common Collocations

  • buscar trabajo – to look for a job
  • puesto de trabajo – job position
  • ir al trabajo – to go to work

Idioms & Expressions

  • manos a la obra – Let's get to work!

I work

VerbA1regular ar
A person actively painting a wall, representing the action of working.
infinitivetrabajar
gerundtrabajando
past Participletrabajado

📝 In Action

Trabajo en una escuela.

A1

I work at a school.

Trabajo como programador.

A2

I work as a programmer.

Hoy no trabajo, es mi día libre.

A1

I don't work today, it's my day off.

Word Connections

Synonyms

  • laborar (to work, to labor (more formal))

Antonyms

  • descansar (to rest)
  • holgazanear (to be lazy, to loaf around)

Common Collocations

  • trabajar duro – to work hard
  • trabajar horas extras – to work overtime
  • trabajar en equipo – to work as a team

🔄 Conjugations

indicative

present

él/ella/ustedtrabaja
yotrabajo
tútrabajas
ellos/ellas/ustedestrabajan
nosotrostrabajamos
vosotrostrabajáis

imperfect

él/ella/ustedtrabajaba
yotrabajaba
tútrabajabas
ellos/ellas/ustedestrabajaban
nosotrostrabajábamos
vosotrostrabajabais

preterite

él/ella/ustedtrabajó
yotrabajé
tútrabajaste
ellos/ellas/ustedestrabajaron
nosotrostrabajamos
vosotrostrabajasteis

subjunctive

present

él/ella/ustedtrabaje
yotrabaje
tútrabajes
ellos/ellas/ustedestrabajen
nosotrostrabajemos
vosotrostrabajéis

imperfect

él/ella/ustedtrabajara
yotrabajara
tútrabajaras
ellos/ellas/ustedestrabajaran
nosotrostrabajáramos
vosotrostrabajarais
View All Tenses & Moods →

🔀 Commonly Confused With

Translate to Spanish

Words that translate to "trabajo" in Spanish:

i work→job→labored→paper→work→worked→

✏️ Quick Practice

Quick Quiz: trabajo

Question 1 of 1

Which sentence uses 'trabajo' to mean 'job' (a noun)?

📚 More Resources

👥 Word Family▼
trabajar(to work) — Verb
trabajador / trabajadora(worker) — Noun
trabajoso(laborious, difficult) — Adjective
🎵 Rhymes▼
📚 Etymology▼

Comes from the Latin word 'tripāliāre', which meant 'to torture' using an instrument called a 'tripālium'. Over centuries, the meaning softened from 'to suffer' to 'to make an effort' and finally to the modern meaning of 'to work'.

First recorded: c. 12th century

Cognates (Related words)

French: travailPortuguese: trabalhoCatalan: treball

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Frequently Asked Questions

What's the difference between 'trabajo' and 'trabajar'?

'Trabajar' is the verb in its basic form, meaning 'to work'. 'Trabajo' can be two things: the noun for 'work/job' (el trabajo), or the verb form for 'I work' (Yo trabajo).

How do you say 'Good job!' in Spanish?

The most common way is '¡Buen trabajo!'. You can also say '¡Bien hecho!' which literally means 'Well done!'