serve

1. Origins, structure, and basic meaning

• Structure: 仕 relates to serving or doing work and is read し in 仕事 and 仕方.
• Basic usage: 仕事, read しごと, means work or a job; 仕方, read しかた, means a way or method.

2. Common pitfalls and similar expressions

• The work and the way of doing it
  • 仕事 is the work itself, while 仕事の仕方 is the way it is done.
  • 操作の仕方 means how to operate something; 仕方 does not mean an occupation.
• It cannot be helped
  • 仕方がない means there is no alternative way to handle something, hence “it cannot be helped.”
  • It does not mean being without work, which is expressed by 仕事がない.