生はえ抜ぬき

は

え

ぬ

き

Common wordFreq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun

native-born; born and raised

Describes a person who was born and grew up in a particular place, emphasizing deep local roots.

彼かれは生はえ抜ぬきの東とう京きょうっ子こだ。
He is a Tokyoite born and bred.

noun which may take the genitive case particle 'no', noun

career; lifer; from the start

Used for someone who has belonged to an organization from the beginning of their career, often contrasted with mid-career hires. Common in phrases like 生え抜きの社員 or 生え抜きの外交官.

彼かれは生はえ抜ぬきの社しゃ員いんとして会かい社しゃに尽つくしてきた。
He has served the company as a career employee from the start.

See all 6 example sentences ›

Usage patterns

〈場ば所しょ〉の生はえ抜ぬきa person who was born and raised in a particular place
彼かれは大おお阪さかの生はえ抜ぬきで、なにわ言こと葉ばを話はなす。
He's a native of Osaka through and through, and speaks the local dialect.
生はえ抜ぬきの〈人ひと〉someone who has worked at the same organization since the very start of their career
彼かれは入にゅう社しゃ以い来らいずっとこの会かい社しゃにいる生はえ抜ぬきの社しゃ員いんだ。
He's a company lifer who has been with this firm since he joined right out of school.
〈組そ織しき〉生はえ抜ぬきの〈人ひと〉a veteran who rose through the ranks of a specific organization from the very beginning
彼かれは外がい務む省しょう生はえ抜ぬきの外がい交こう官かんとして知しられている。
He is known as a career diplomat who has been with the Foreign Ministry since the beginning.

Kanji

生life, genuine, birth
抜slip out, extract, pull out

Related words

生粋きっすい sense 1
生粋 stresses pure, unmixed local origin (生粋の江戸っ子), while 生え抜き can describe either a person's local roots or a lifelong career at one organization.
地じ元もとN2sense 1
地元 means 'one's home area/hometown' (a place), whereas 生え抜き describes a person who was born and raised there, so 生え抜き often modifies 地元 (地元生え抜き).
プロパー sense 2
プロパー is casual business jargon for a company's own long-time staff as opposed to temps or mid-career hires, while 生え抜き specifically highlights someone who rose through the ranks from the very start.

Opposites

中ちゅう途と採さい用よう sense 2
中途採用 refers to hiring someone mid-career, the direct opposite of a 生え抜き employee who joined the organization from the very beginning.
外と様ざま sense 2
外様 describes an outsider who joined an organization later and is treated as not fully belonging, in contrast to a 生え抜き who has been there since the start.
よそ者もの sense 1
他所者 means someone from elsewhere with no local roots, the opposite of a 生え抜き who was born and raised in the place.

Built from

生はえる+抜ぬき

Written forms

生はえ抜ぬきUsage83%
Standard kanji spelling; high-frequency news term.
はえぬきUsage17%

Etymology

The noun derives from 生え抜く, “to grow up entirely in one place or organization.” It consequently denotes someone native-born or attached to a group from the beginning.