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お雇い外国人 (おやといがいこくじん) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Meanings 1
noun
foreign advisor hired by the Japanese government during the Bakumatsu and Meiji periods
Historical term referring to specialists from Western countries employed to assist Japan's modernization in fields such as engineering, education, and military affairs.
お 雇やと い 外がい 国こく 人じん の 中なか に は 、 鉄てつ 道どう や 灯とう 台だい の 建けん 設せつ を 指し 導どう し た 技ぎ 術じゅつ 者しゃ も い た 。
Among the hired foreigners were engineers who supervised the construction of railways and lighthouses.
Written forms お 雇やと い 外がい 国こく 人じん
Standard modern spelling with honorific prefix お.
御お 雇やと い 外がい 国こく 人じん
Formal variant using the kanji 御 for the honorific prefix; less common in modern writing.
御お 雇やとい 外がい 国こく 人じん
Abbreviated formal variant without the okurigana い; rarely used.
Kanji 御 honorable, manipulate, govern Similar words 外がい 国こく 人じん General term for 'foreigner'; お雇い外国人 specifically denotes those hired by the government for modernization projects.
御雇おやとい Honorific prefix 御 (お) + 雇い (hiring); used in historical contexts for government-employed foreigners.
Etymology Compound of honorific prefix お (御) + 雇い (yatoi, 'hiring') + 外国人 (gaikokujin, 'foreigner'). The term emerged in the late Edo and Meiji periods to refer to foreign experts employed by the Japanese government.
