The expression "what do you do?" in French can be translated in a few ways depending on the context, especially if asking about someone's occupation or daily activities. The most common and natural ways to say this are:
-
To ask about someone's job:
"Qu'est-ce que tu fais dans la vie ?" (informal)
or
"Que faites-vous dans la vie ?" (formal)
This literally means "What do you do in life?" and is a common way to ask about someone's profession or what kind of work they do. -
Another way to ask specifically "What do you do for work?" is:
"Qu'est-ce que tu fais comme travail ?"
which translates roughly to "What do you do as work?" This form uses "comme" to indicate the capacity or kind of work. -
For a more general "what do you do?" (as in what are you doing right now or what do you do in terms of activities), you might simply say:
"Que fais-tu ?" or "Qu'est-ce que tu fais ?" — meaning "What are you doing?"
In summary, the best translation depends on whether the intent is to know
someone's profession or their current activities, but the most typical way to
ask "What do you do?" meaning "What is your job?" in French is:
"Qu'est-ce que tu fais dans la vie ?" (informal) or "Que faites-vous
dans la vie ?" (formal).
