salaryman

noun

sal·​a·​ry·​man ˈsal-rē-ˌman How to pronounce salaryman (audio)
ˈsa-lə-
: a Japanese white-collar businessman

Examples of salaryman in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Across a 45-year career in the movies, Koji Yakusho has worked with every major Japanese director of his generation and inhabited over 80 characters, spanning salarymen, samurai, yakuza gangsters, taxi drivers, journalists, cops, killers, heroes, dancers, seducers and everymen of all kinds. Patrick Brzeski, The Hollywood Reporter, 25 Oct. 2023 Two Indian restaurants glowed next door, beside a man grilling eel under a tarp for some salarymen. Bryan Washington, The New Yorker, 29 Aug. 2023 The film follows Akio (Yo Oizumi) a beleaguered salaryman on the brink of divorce and with a fraught relationship with his college-aged daughter. Mathew Scott, The Hollywood Reporter, 9 June 2023 The story focuses on a salaryman who finds an exciting new side to life while under siege from zombies. Patrick Frater, Variety, 6 Jan. 2023 The owner and chef, Yuji Nonaka, 57, quit his salaryman job and started his restaurant 14 years ago with his wife, Kiyomi Nonaka, 50. Kiyomi discovered her love for Hawaii -- particularly hula dancing -- during a work trip as an 18-year-old. Kathleen Benoza, CNN, 30 Aug. 2022 The 48-year-old salaryman started fishing as a hobby during the pandemic. Hanako Lowry, Los Angeles Times, 24 June 2021 Following Magnetic Rose was the entirely different and eerily upbeat Stink Bomb, which dealt with a salaryman in a laboratory inadvertently letting loose a devastating biological weapon. Ollie Barder, Forbes, 21 June 2021 Anyone who has even a passing interest in Japan knows this, has seen the photographs of black-suited salarymen having picnic lunches in an incongruously pink landscape, like something out of a child’s fantasy bedroom. New York Times, 11 Feb. 2020

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'salaryman.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Japanese sararī-man, from English salary + man

First Known Use

1962, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of salaryman was in 1962

Dictionary Entries Near salaryman

Cite this Entry

“Salaryman.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/salaryman. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

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