電工(でんこう)

An abbreviation of 電気(でんき)工事(こうじ)士(し) (electrical construction worker) or 電気(でんき)工(こう) (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(でんき)工事(こうじ)士(し), with two levels: 第二種(だいにしゅ) (for residential/small-scale work) and 第一種(だいいっしゅ) (for large-scale industrial/commercial work). In everyday speech, 電工(でんこう) is the common shorthand for both the license and the profession.

The word also appears in major company names like 松下(まつした)電工(でんこう) (Matsushita Electric Works, now Panasonic).

Common collocations

• 電工(でんこう)の資格(しかく): electrician's license
• 電工(でんこう)工事(こうじ): electrical construction work
• 電工(でんこう)ドラム: extension cord reel

Similar words

• 電気(でんき)工事(こうじ)士(し): licensed electrician — the formal, full term for the profession
• 電気(でんき)技師(ぎし): electrical engineer — a higher-level technical role focused on design and systems
• 配線(はいせん)工(こう): wiring worker — more specific to the wiring aspect of electrical work