Understanding 営業 (えいぎょう)
The word 営業 primarily refers to business activities, especially sales and trade operations. It can mean the act of running a business, sales work, or the hours a business is open.
Common Uses
- Business operations: When talking about what a company does, 営業 refers to its commercial activities, such as selling products or services.
- Sales work: 営業 can describe the job of salespeople who interact with customers to promote or sell goods.
- Business hours: It is also used to indicate the opening hours of a store or company.
Collocations and Patterns
- 営業する (to do business/sales): Used when describing the act of conducting business.
- 営業中 (open for business): Indicates a store or office is currently open.
- 営業時間 (business hours): Refers to the time period a business operates.
- 営業担当 (sales representative): The person responsible for sales.
Usage Notes
When using 営業, context is important to clarify whether you mean the business activity, the sales job, or the store's open hours. For example, 営業しています can mean "doing business" or "open for business" depending on context.
Learners sometimes confuse 営業 with 経営 (けいえい), which means management or running a company at a higher level. 営業 focuses more on sales and customer interaction.
Formality
営業 is a neutral to formal term commonly used in business contexts. It is appropriate in both spoken and written Japanese when discussing business or sales.