Basic Jobs & Occupations
पेशे और व्यवसाय
German drops the article entirely when stating a profession — "I am teacher," not "I am a teacher" — this is one corner of German that matches Hindi, since Hindi has no article at all.
Grammar Comparison
व्याकरण तुलना
No article before an unmodified profession — just like Hindi
Ich bin Lehrer. (I am a teacher.) — NOT Ich bin ein Lehrer.
मैं शिक्षक हूँ।
Hindi never has an indefinite article — "मैं शिक्षक हूँ" has no need or habit of adding 'एक'. German also drops ein/eine entirely after sein when stating a profession, nationality, or religion, as long as the noun isn't otherwise modified: Ich bin Lehrer, Ich bin Amerikaner. The article only returns once you add a descriptive adjective: Ich bin EIN guter Lehrer (I am a good teacher). Since Hindi never had the article habit to begin with, this German rule will feel more natural to you than to English speakers — English speakers often add ein out of reflex, a mistake you're not at risk of making.
Most professions have distinct male/female forms
der Lehrer / die Lehrerin (male/female teacher)
शिक्षक / शिक्षिका
Hindi also has distinct feminine forms for some professions (शिक्षक/शिक्षिका), though many modern professions (डॉक्टर, इंजीनियर) stay gender-neutral in Hindi. German profession nouns almost always come in pairs: a masculine base form, and a feminine form built by adding -in (often with an umlaut too: der Arzt → die Ärztin, doctor). Both forms need to be learned to speak correctly about any given profession.
Vocabulary
शब्दावली
| German | Pronunciation | Hindi | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| der Beruf | dair beh-ROOF | पेशाpeśā | the profession/job |
| der Lehrer / die Lehrerin | dair LAY-rer / dee LAY-rer-in | शिक्षक / शिक्षिकाśikṣak / śikṣikā | teacher (male/female) |
| der Arzt / die Ärztin | dair ahrtst / dee ERTST-in | डॉक्टर (पुरुष/स्त्री)ḍŏkṭar | doctor (male/female) |
| der Ingenieur / die Ingenieurin | dair in-zhen-YER / dee in-zhen-YER-in | इंजीनियर (पुरुष/स्त्री)iñjīniyar | engineer (male/female) |
| der Student / die Studentin | dair shtoo-DENT / dee shtoo-DENT-in | छात्र / छात्राchātra / chātrā | student (male/female) |
| der Koch / die Köchin | dair kokh / dee KERKH-in | रसोइया / रसोइनrasoiyā / rasoin | cook/chef (male/female) |
| Was bist du von Beruf? | vahs bist doo fon beh-ROOF | तुम्हारा पेशा क्या है?tumhārā peśā kyā hai? | What's your job? |
| Ich bin Lehrer. | ikh bin LAY-rer | मैं शिक्षक हूँ।maiñ śikṣak hūñ | I am a teacher. |