1.
electrician; electrical worker
A person who does electrical wiring and installation work. Also used as an abbreviation for electrical construction work or as part of company names in the electrical industry.
電工を呼んだ。
I called an electrician.
電工の資格を取りたい。
I want to get an electrician's license.
父は長年電工として働いてきた。
My father has worked as an electrician for many years.
コンセントの増設は電工に頼んだほうがいい。
You should have an electrician handle adding electrical outlets.
An abbreviation of 電気工事士 (electrical construction worker) or 電気工 (electrical worker). The word serves double duty: it refers to the person (electrician) and, as an abbreviation, to the trade or field of electrical work itself.
The formal license is called 電気工事士, with two levels: 第二種 (for residential/small-scale work) and 第一種 (for large-scale industrial/commercial work). In everyday speech, 電工 is the common shorthand for both the license and the profession.
The word also appears in major company names like 松下電工 (Matsushita Electric Works, now Panasonic).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 電工の資格: electrician's license
- 電工工事: electrical construction work
- 電工ドラム: extension cord reel
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 電気工事士: licensed electrician — the formal, full term for the profession
- 電気技師: electrical engineer — a higher-level technical role focused on design and systems
- 配線工: wiring worker — more specific to the wiring aspect of electrical work