being left out; being excluded; being kept in the dark
Idiomatic expression describing a situation where someone is deliberately or inadvertently excluded from a group, information, or decision-making. Often used with verbs like 置かれる or される. The literal image is of being outside a mosquito net while others are inside.
Even though it was an important meeting, I was left out of the loop.
彼だけが蚊帳の外で、何も知らされていなかった。
He alone was kept in the dark and wasn't told anything.
のけ者 also means someone who is excluded or treated as an outsider, but it often implies active rejection or being singled out. 蚊帳の外 can be more passive, like simply not being informed.
Standard kanji spelling; literally 'outside the mosquito net'.
Mixed kana-kanji spelling; less common but still encountered.
Literally 'outside the mosquito net' (蚊帳の外). The phrase comes from the image of someone being left outside a mosquito net while others are inside, protected and together. It figuratively means being excluded from a group or kept uninformed.