Translation guide
A person who obeys another's orders without question, often in a servile or demeaning way. In Japanese, this concept is expressed through words that emphasize blind obedience, low status, or being used as a tool.
To refer to someone who unquestioningly follows orders, often in a demeaning or subservient role.
To describe someone who is exploited and treated as a disposable instrument by a more powerful person.
To refer to a servant or attendant who behaves in an excessively obedient or fawning manner, often in a historical or literary context.
手下 (てした) is the most general term for a henchman or underling, often used in criminal or organizational settings. 子分 (こぶん) specifically implies a yakuza-style hierarchical relationship with a boss (親分). 手先 (てさき) emphasizes being used as a tool or pawn, often without loyalty, just exploitation.
手下を集めて強盗を働いた。
He gathered lackeys and committed a robbery.
子分たちは親分のために命をかける。
The lackeys risk their lives for the boss.
A common word for a subordinate or henchman, often used in contexts like gangs or organizations. It implies someone who acts under another's command, sometimes with a negative connotation of being a mere tool.
彼はボスの手下に過ぎない。
He's nothing more than the boss's lackey.
手下を使って汚い仕事をさせる。
He uses his lackeys to do the dirty work.
Often used in yakuza or gang contexts to mean a follower or henchman. It emphasizes a hierarchical relationship where the 'kobun' is loyal and obedient to the 'oyabun' (boss).
彼は組長の子分だ。
He's a lackey of the gang boss.
Literally 'waist pouch', this is a derogatory term for someone who constantly follows and flatters a superior, like a sycophantic lackey. It implies clinging behavior.
彼は社長の腰巾着だ。
He's the president's lackey, always hanging around him.
Means 'pawn' or 'tool', emphasizing that the person is used to carry out someone else's plans without their own will. Often used in political or criminal contexts.
彼はただの手先に過ぎない。
He's just a lackey, a mere tool.
スパイの手先として使われた。
He was used as a lackey by the spy.
Literally a 'chess piece', this metaphorically means a pawn or someone who is manipulated. It highlights being controlled and expendable.
彼は組織の駒に過ぎない。
He's just a lackey, a pawn of the organization.
A formal or literary term for a servant or footman. It can carry a nuance of blind obedience, similar to 'lackey' in older English usage.
彼は貴族の従僕として仕えた。
He served as a lackey to the nobleman.
He was unknowingly made a lackey in the fraud.
There is no single Japanese word that perfectly matches all nuances of 'lackey'. Direct translations like ラッキー (rakkī) are meaningless. Choose the term that best fits the specific context: blind obedience (手下), gang hierarchy (子分), being used (手先), or fawning (腰巾着).
He was unknowingly made a lackey in the fraud.
There is no single Japanese word that perfectly matches all nuances of 'lackey'. Direct translations like ラッキー (rakkī) are meaningless. Choose the term that best fits the specific context: blind obedience (手下), gang hierarchy (子分), being used (手先), or fawning (腰巾着).