Jobs and professions in Esperanto – teacher, doctor, nurse

Most jobs in Esperanto end in -isto: instruisto "teacher", kuracisto "doctor", kuiristo "cook". The suffix -ist- marks a person who is busy with something, often as a profession: instrui "to teach" gives instruisto. A few jobs are plain roots with no -ist-, such as kelnero "waiter", ŝoforo "driver" and inĝeniero "engineer". Pronunciation guides split words into syllables, with the stressed syllable in capitals.

#How job words are built

These are ordinary suffixes and participles. They stack as in any word building: lern·ej·estr·o is "learn + place + leader", a head teacher.

#What -ist- means, and where it is not used

The reference grammar PMEG defines -ist- as a person who often takes part in something, perhaps professionally. So instruisto teaches for a living, but biciklisto "cyclist" is anyone who often rides a bike, and esperantisto is anyone who knows and uses Esperanto. For a precise job, use a compound: instead of the vague fiŝisto, PMEG suggests fiŝkaptisto "fisherman", fiŝbredisto "fish breeder" or fiŝvendisto "fishmonger".

Many job words are complete roots and take no -ist-. PMEG lists ĥirurgo "surgeon", barbiro "barber", kelnero "waiter", aktoro "actor", soldato "soldier", profesoro "professor" and ŝoforo "driver", and says not to say ĥirurgisto. ReVo likewise has inĝeniero, advokato and sekretario as ordinary words without -ist-. No rule predicts which jobs are which, so learn each one as it is. Fizikisto "physicist" does need -ist-, because fiziko is the science itself.

#Common jobs by field

#Education and health

#Food, shops and services

#Office, business, law and state

#Technical, building and transport

#Science, media and art

#Land and sea

#-ist-, -an- or -ul-?

PMEG says that when two suffixes fit, speakers pick the one that gives the more international form: kristano, not krististo. Compare ŝipano "person who serves on a ship" with maristo "person who lives from the sea".

Do not add -ul- to a word that already names a person. PMEG gives parolanto, not parolantulo. The same goes for laboranto and dungito.

#Female forms with -in-

According to PMEG, -in- adds female sex. After a male root it is required: patrino, fratino (see family words). After a sex-neutral root, which includes most job words, it is optional: PMEG writes Ŝi estas aktor(in)o and says Ŝi estas ŝoforo is correct.

Tradition adds -in- routinely, so the bare word can sound male next to its partner, but the plural kuracistoj normally includes everyone. PMEG notes that since the late 20th century more speakers have stopped adding -in- by default, and calls both habits correct. To stress that a person is male, say vira aktoro "male actor".

#Workplaces with -ej-

PMEG describes -ej- as a place meant for something. What comes before it is what happens there or who works there: tajlorejo is where a tailor works.

Fabriko is a separate root. For factories PMEG recommends clear compounds such as ŝtalfabriko or ŝtalejo "steelworks" and tabakfarejo "tobacco factory", because tabakejo is a place where tobacco is grown. An -ej- word can also stand for the people who work there: Nia oficejo ŝanĝis la regulojn – "Our office changed the rules."

#Bosses, colleagues and work words

PMEG defines -estr- as a person who leads and decides; what comes before it is the place or matter the person is in charge of. The table also uses the prefixes mal- "opposite" and eks- "out of office" (eksministro "former minister").

#Talking about your job

Esperanto has no word for "a": Mi estas instruisto is simply "I am a teacher". The article la is for something specific: Li estas la direktoro "He is the director".

After kiel "as", a noun naming the subject's role keeps its basic form. A noun naming the object's role takes -n: La entrepreno dungis ŝin kiel kasiston – "The company hired her as a cashier" (PMEG's parallel: Ili elektis ŝin kiel kasiston). See the accusative and the question words kie and kio in the correlatives.

#Looking for a job

Kandidatiĝi means to become a candidate; ReVo's example is a candidate "al la posteno de direktoro". Enposteniĝi is "to get a post", and dungiĝi "to get hired" is the -iĝ- partner of dungi.

#Common questions

#How do you say "teacher" in Esperanto?

Instruisto, female instruistino, from instrui "to teach" plus -ist-. A university teacher can be a profesoro.

#How do you say "doctor" in Esperanto?

A medical doctor is kuracisto (female kuracistino). Doktoro is first of all the academic degree "doctor"; ReVo adds that it is also an informal polite title for medical doctors, as in sinjoro doktoro.

#How do you say "I am a teacher" or "I work as a teacher"?

Mi estas instruisto or Mi laboras kiel instruisto. Esperanto has no word for "a", so nothing comes before the job.

#What is the difference between -isto and -ano?

-ist- names what a person does, often as a job (verkisto "writer"). -an- names what a person belongs to or where they live (klubano "club member"). When both fit, usage decides: kristano, not krististo.

#Do you add -ino to women's jobs?

After male roots such as patro you must. After neutral job words such as kuracisto it is optional: Ŝi estas kuracisto and Ŝi estas kuracistino are both correct.

#How do you ask "What do you do for a living?"

Say Kio estas via profesio? "What is your profession?", Kio estas via laboro? or Kie vi laboras? "Where do you work?".

#Sources

• PMEG: IST, AN, UL, IN, EJ, ESTR, EKS
• PMEG: Seksa signifo de O-vortoj
• PMEG: Perverba priskribo de objekto
• ReVo: instruisto, kuracisto, ĥirurgo, advokato, inĝeniero, arĥitekto, piloto, maristo, kamparano
• ReVo: labori, dungi, eksiĝi, kolego, posteno, kandidato, doktoro
• Tatoeba, CC BY 2.0 FR, sentences #487741, #1623598, #3263101, #530379, #933450