Kotoba no Hibiki

---

What words to express “clerk” in Japanese?

店員てんいん、受付うけつけ係かかり、事務じむ員いん、書記官しょきかん

We can distinguish four meanings of the word ‘clerk’ according to the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries.
Japanese uses different expressions for each meaning.

​1. a person whose job is to serve customers in a shop

the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

We can say 店員てんいん

2. a person whose job is dealing with people arriving at or leaving a hotel

the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

We can say 受付うけつけ係かかり

3. a person whose job is to keep the records or accounts and do other routine duties in an office, shop, etc.

the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

We can say 事務じむ員いん

4. an official in charge of the records of a council, court, etc.

the Oxford Learner’s Dictionaries

We can say 書記官しょきかん

---

Advanced Tips

Do you think there are too many different Japanese words for a clerk?

Don’t worry.
You can call them all by just one Japanese word, 〇〇の人ひと.
Please add words of where the person is into 〇〇.

For example,

If you want to describe a person who is in a shop serving customers, you can say 店みせの人ひと.

If a person is in a hotel reception area, you can call them 受付うけつけの人ひと.