'What Company Do You Work For?' Use どこ, Not 何, in Japanese

🗣️ The trap that catches almost every English speaker

Hi everyone, Kenji here 😊

In English you'd ask "What company do you work for?" — using what. So your instinct in Japanese is to reach for 何なに (nani) or どの (which).

Don't. If you ask 何なにの会社かいしゃですか？ expecting to hear a company name, you'll get back "Oh, it's an IT services company" — because what you actually asked was what type of company.

To get the company name, you need どこ (where). Let me walk you through why.

🔍 何 vs どこ: a question of mental model

English frames affiliation as identity: "What is the thing you belong to?" — calls for a what.

Japanese frames affiliation as location: "Where do you sit / where is your post?" — calls for a where.

📖 Affiliation question words

Word	Meaning	What it asks for
何なに	what / what kind of	Category / type (industry, content)
どこ	where	Specific organization (company name, school name)
どちら	which way / where (polite)	Polite version of どこ (business, first meetings)

To get a company name, use どこ. To politely upgrade: どちら.

🏢 5 ways to ask about someone's work, by register

1. Business / first meeting (use this!)

失礼しつれいですが、会社かいしゃはどちらですか？ — May I ask which company you're with?

💡 Tip: どちら is standard in business. It elevates where into respectful territory.

2. More specific

どちらの会社かいしゃにお勤つとめですか？ — Which company do you work at?

3. Casual (friend-of-a-friend setting)

仕事しごとはどこでしてるの？ — Where do you work?

4. School / major

大学だいがくはどこですか？ — Which university are you at?

5. Department / team

部署ぶしょはどこですか？ — Which department?

⚠️ Three common English-speaker slips

❌ Slip 1: 何なにの会社かいしゃですか。

Japanese ear: "What does the company do (which industry)?"

Fix: どちらの会社かいしゃですか。

❌ Slip 2: どの会社かいしゃに行いっていますか。

Japanese ear: "Which of these (visible) companies are you walking toward?"

Fix: どこの会社かいしゃにお勤つとめですか。

❌ Slip 3: 貴社きしゃはどこですか？

Japanese ear: tone is polite but the question is asking for the company's physical location.

Fix in spoken business Japanese: 御社おんしゃはどちらですか？ (note: 御社 is for spoken, 貴社 for written).

🗣️ In context

🗣️ Networking event

Kenji: 初はじめまして、Kenjiです。失礼しつれいですが、お勤つとめはどちらですか？ — Nice to meet you, I'm Kenji. May I ask where you work? Stranger: ABC商事しょうじです。Kenjiさんは？ — I'm at ABC Trading. And you?

Notice — neither side uses 何. The whole exchange runs on どちら/どこ.

✨ Kenji's recap

何 = type / industry. どこ = name of organization.
どちら = the polite どこ. Use it in business and first meetings.
Avoid どの with company/school unless physically pointing at one.
Spoken business: 御社 (yours) / 弊社 (mine). Written: 貴社 / 当社.

Fix this one habit and your Japanese networking suddenly sounds native. 😊