兼業 and 専業: combining occupations and focusing on one
Compare combining farming and restaurant work with focusing on one occupation in farming or translation, using the company-rule and fictional-translator examples.
Combining more than one occupation
兼業 (けんぎょう) means combining occupations or having a side occupation. 「農業と飲食店を兼業する家族に話を聞いた。」 reports speaking with a family running both a farm and a restaurant. More than one occupation is in focus.
「会社の規則で認められる兼業の範囲を確認した。」 reports checking the range of side occupations permitted by company rules. The checked range belongs to that company's rules rather than a rule for all employers.
Farming or translation as the occupation
専業 (せんぎょう) concerns specializing in one occupation. 「彼は春から農業を専業にする。」 describes his farming full time beginning in spring. Read the occupation he will focus on and its starting point.
「小説の主人公は専業の翻訳家として暮らしている。」 describes the novel's protagonist making a living as a full-time translator. It identifies a fictional character's occupation rather than actual translators' hours or income.
The range of occupations
兼業 emphasizes combining occupations such as farming and running a restaurant; 専業 emphasizes concentrating on one occupation such as farming or translation. The words do not directly compare workload or earnings.
Checking a rule, beginning an occupation in spring, and life in a novel are separate contexts. Read whether occupations are combined without adding fixed hours or an employment arrangement.
What occupational range differs between the family's 兼業 and the novel's translator's 専業?
Show the answer and why
The family combines more than one occupation; the fictional character devotes their work to translation. This distinction does not supply hours, earnings, or real-world permission rules.