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Lesson 8.1.2 · Trabajo y Profesiones

💼 Work & Professions

Within minutes of meeting someone in Colombia, you'll be asked '¿En qué trabaja?' Have your answer ready, and learn the names of the professions you'll meet around town — from the panadero on the corner to the veterinario who saves your dog.

Sub-lessons

Break this lesson into focused chunks. Each sub-lesson has its own Memory Lab — active recall, mnemonics, elaboration, interleaved review, and shadowing — scoped to just those words.

01

Asking About Work

'¿A qué se dedica?' is a polished, polite version of '¿En qué trabaja?' Both are friendly conversation-starters, not interrogation.

¿A qué se dedica?[ah keh seh deh-DEE-kah]

What do you do for a living?

¿Dónde trabaja?[DON-deh trah-BAH-hah]

Where do you work?

el trabajo[el trah-BAH-ho]

work / job

trabajar[trah-bah-HAR]

to work

02

Common Professions

Most professions have a male and female form. Pick the one that fits the person you're talking about.

el enfermero / la enfermera[el en-fer-MEH-roh / lah en-fer-MEH-rah]

nurse

el psicólogo / la psicóloga[el see-KOH-loh-goh / lah see-KOH-loh-gah]

psychologist

el peluquero / la peluquera[el peh-loo-KEH-roh / lah peh-loo-KEH-rah]

hairdresser

el / la recepcionista[el / lah reh-sep-syoh-NEES-tah]

receptionist

el panadero / la panadera[el pah-nah-DEH-roh / lah pah-nah-DEH-rah]

baker

el veterinario / la veterinaria[el beh-teh-ree-NAH-ryo / lah beh-teh-ree-NAH-ryah]

veterinarian

03

Farms, Bakeries & Country Life

'Finca' is the universal Colombian word for any country property — from a one-room weekend escape to a sprawling coffee estate. Most middle-class families either have one or visit one.

el campesino / la campesina[el kam-peh-SEE-noh / lah kam-peh-SEE-nah]

farmer

los campesinos[los kam-peh-SEE-nos]

farmers

la finca[lah FEEN-kah]

farm

la panadería[lah pah-nah-deh-REE-ah]

bakery

el periódico[el peh-RYOH-dee-koh]

newspaper

Example sentences

  • Mi tío es panadero y tiene una panadería en el pueblo.

    My uncle is a baker and has a bakery in town.

  • Los campesinos trabajan en la finca todos los días.

    The farmers work on the farm every day.

MEM

Memory lab

Five research-backed techniques — active recall, mnemonics, elaboration, interleaving, and production — applied to this lesson's vocabulary. Your progress trains a spaced-repetition schedule under the hood.

Force the answer from memory before peeking. The struggle is the workout — that's the testing effect.

01 / 15New card

Recall from English

work / job

EX

Practice exercises

Test what stuck. Multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank — pulled live from this lesson's vocabulary.

01
How do you say this?

farm

02
How do you say this?

hairdresser

03
What does this mean?

el enfermero / la enfermera

04
How do you say this?

baker

05
What does this mean?

el trabajo

06
What does this mean?

¿A qué se dedica?

07

Fill the blank

Mi tío es panadero y tiene una _____ en el pueblo.

My uncle is a baker and has a bakery in town.

08

Fill the blank

Los _____ trabajan en la finca todos los días.

The farmers work on the farm every day.

Score: 0 / 8

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