サラリーマン

also: サラーリーマン · サラリマン · サラーリマン · サラリー・マン

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Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 10,000

Meanings

noun

office worker; company employee; salaryman

Refers to a salaried company employee, especially a white-collar office worker. It often evokes the stereotypical Japanese company employee and is traditionally male-coded, though 会社員 is more neutral and general.

wasei-eigo (Japanese-coined English), from salaryman

父ちちは東とう京きょうの会かい社しゃでサラリーマンをしている。
My father works as a company employee in Tokyo.
多おおくのサラリーマンが朝あさの満まん員いん電でん車しゃで通つう勤きんする。
Many office workers commute on crowded morning trains.

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Usage patterns

サラリーマンになるto become a company employee
大だい学がくを卒そつ業ぎょうしたら、サラリーマンになるつもりだ。
I plan to become a company employee after graduating from university.
サラリーマン生せい活かつthe life/routine of a salaried office worker
彼かれは十じゅう年ねん間かんサラリーマン生せい活かつを続つづけている。
He has kept up the salaryman lifestyle for ten years.
サラリーマンを辞やめるto quit being a company employee
彼かれはサラリーマンを辞やめて、自じ分ぶんの店みせを開ひらいた。
He quit being a company employee and opened his own shop.
平へい凡ぼんなサラリーマンan ordinary, unremarkable office worker
主しゅ人じん公こうは平へい凡ぼんなサラリーマンだった。
The main character was an ordinary company employee.

Related words· 9

会かい社しゃ員いんN5
会社員 is the neutral, gender-free term for a company employee, while サラリーマン traditionally evokes a male white-collar worker with cultural stereotypes attached.
ビジネスマンN1
ビジネスマン emphasizes being a business professional or businessperson in general, whereas サラリーマン specifically means a salaried office employee.
ＯＬN3
OL refers to a female office worker and carries its own social connotations, so it is not simply the female counterpart of サラリーマン.
サラ
サラリーマン is the full word for 'office worker/salaryman', while サラ is its abbreviated form found only in compounds like サラ金.

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社しゃ畜ちく
サラリーマン is a neutral, everyday word for a salaried office worker, while 社畜 is a jocular, self-deprecating term implying that person is exploited and overworked.
ホワイトカラー
サラリーマン is a broader, more casual term for any salaried company employee, while ホワイトカラー specifically emphasizes office/professional work as opposed to manual labor.
リーマン
サラリーマン is the full, standard word for a salaried office worker, while リーマン is a casual clipped slang form of the same word.
社しゃ員いんN4
サラリーマン is a casual, slightly dated term for a male salaried office worker, while 社員 is neutral and applies to anyone employed by a company.
勤きん労ろう者しゃ
サラリーマン is a casual, everyday term for a salaried office worker, while 勤労者 is a formal, statistical term for anyone who works for a living.

Counted with

人にん
The everyday counter for people: 一人 (ひとり), 二人 (ふたり), 三人 (さんにん).
名めいN2
More formal than 人 — used for headcounts in reservations, staff lists, and announcements (5名様).

Word family

サラリーマン社しゃ長ちょう
manager promoted from in-house office worker
サラリーマン金きん融ゆう
consumer financing; salaryman loans

Etymology

Wasei-eigo based on English “salaryman,” ultimately from “salary” plus “man.” In Japanese it developed as a common term for a salaried company employee.