Trabalho vs. Emprego vs. Profissão: Talk About Work in Portuguese — Practice

Use trabalho for work, a task, or a workplace

Trabalho is the broadest of the three words. It can mean work as an activity, a task or assignment, and in some contexts a place of work. Fazer um trabalho may mean do a piece of work or complete an assignment; ir ao trabalho means go to work.

Because trabalho covers several ideas, add context when precision matters. Say meu trabalho como designer to describe your work or minha tarefa to focus on one task.

Use emprego for a position and profissão for an occupation

Emprego commonly means a job or paid position, especially when talking about having, finding, or losing one: procurar emprego, conseguir um emprego. Profissão is an occupation or career, often connected to training or a field of expertise: a profissão dela é arquitetura.

A person can change empregos without changing profissões. For example, a teacher may work at two schools over a career; the positions change, while the profession remains teaching. These words overlap in casual conversation, so focus on the distinction the sentence needs.

Remember: Trabalho can mean work, task, or workplace. Emprego often means a paid position. Profissão describes an occupation or career. Use the word that matches the focus of your sentence.

Check your understanding

Choose the English meaning of each Portuguese example. Answer before looking back at the tables. These questions check the written examples in this guide; they are not a listening or proficiency test.

Recall the Portuguese, then say it

Read the English prompt and say a Portuguese version before opening the answer. The answer shows the example from the lesson; other natural translations may also work. Compare the meaning and the situation rather than counting a different word as automatically wrong.

1. I have a lot of work this week.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Tenho muito trabalho esta semana.

2. She takes the bus to work.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ela vai de ônibus para o trabalho.

3. I need to finish a university assignment.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Preciso terminar um trabalho da faculdade.

4. My cousin is looking for a job.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Meu primo está procurando emprego.

5. What is your profession?

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Qual é a sua profissão?

6. She changed jobs but is still in the same profession.

   Show a Portuguese answer

   Ela trocou de emprego, mas continua na mesma profissão.

Make the phrase useful to you

Choose one example you could actually use. Say it once from memory, then change one detail that fits your life, such as the person, place, time, or object. Check whether your change also needs a different verb form, article, or adjective ending. If it does, compare it with the pattern in the explanation.

Trabalho can mean work, task, or workplace. Emprego often means a paid position. Profissão describes an occupation or career. Use the word that matches the focus of your sentence.

Return to two prompts tomorrow without opening the answers first. If a phrase still feels difficult, shorten it to a useful chunk and build the complete sentence again.

Sources and your next lesson

This I Speak Portuguese practice guide builds on our Trabalho vs. Emprego vs. Profissão: Talk About Work in Portuguese lesson on Real Life Portuguese, with written recall tasks and additional speaking practice. The explanations and examples are teaching material; the practice questions are exercises, not a transcript of a recording.

To add Brazilian audio to your routine, choose a lesson in the Real Life Portuguese app. The app offers its own lessons and practice; this page does not imply that every example here has an app recording.