Dictionary

salaryman en · NOUN

Pronunciation

• /ˈsæl.əɹ.i.mæn/

Etymology

Phono-semantic matching of Japanese サラリーマン (sararīman), itself a wasei eigo (和製英語; pseudo-anglicism) derived from salary + man.

Meanings

1. An employee, a worker; now especially a Japanese white-collar worker who works long hours yet has an insignificant position within the corporate hierarchy.
   • 2017 May 30, NTT Solmare, Moe! Ninja Girls, Season 6 Chapter 2, iOS and Android ― Yamabuki: “Okay... *Sigh*... I thought l'd get to go home and sleep after taking the Principal back...but here I am, still at it, like an overworked salaryman!” ― John: “What? Salaryman?”
   • In this way, the salaryman was both a progressive social stratum and an intellectual class. 2000, Harry Harootunian, Overcome by Modernity, page 205:

Forms

Relateds

office lady · karoshi · freeter

Translations (7)

ko 샐러리맨 (a salaried worker in Japan or South Korea) · de Salaryman (a salaried worker in Japan or South Korea) · ru сарарима́н (a salaried worker in Japan or South Korea) · fi salaryman (a salaried worker in Japan or South Korea) · fr salaryman (a salaried worker in Japan or South Korea) · ja サラリーマン (a salaried worker in Japan or South Korea) · fi toimihenkilö (a salaried worker in Japan or South Korea)