Education & Work in Japanese English / 教育や仕事の和製英語

Japanese has something called wasei eigo (和製英語, literally “Japanese-made English”), which means words that seem to be English (eigo), but are not. These words came from English originally, but the meaning has been changed to a distinctly Japanese meaning.

Today’s wasei eigo theme is phrases related to school and work.

Over Doctor / obaa dokutaa / オバードクター

In English, this sounds like a doctor who is much to involved in health care. But in Japanese, this refers to someone who is over-educated, particularly someone who is unemployed and holds a PhD.

「最近、この国でオーバードクター問題が社会問題になりました。」

“Recently, the over doctor problem has become a social issue in this country.” or “Recently, the amount of underemployed, over-educated people has become a social issue in this country.”

Parasite Single / parasaito shinguru / パラサイトシングル

A parasite single sounds pretty bad, but it means something different than it first appears. A parasite single is an adult who is capable of living on their own and fully supporting themselves, but who instead chooses to live at home with their parents rent-free. They may take a part-time job or they may simply live on as they did when they were a school kid. In the US, this is called the boomerang generation.

「就活失敗したから、やっぱりパラサイトシングルの生活になりますよ。」

“I failed at job hunting, so I guess I will have to join the parasite single lifestyle.” or “I failed at job hunting, so I guess I’ll have to go live at home and be a parasite to my parents.”

Kyoiku Mama / kyouiku mama / 教育ママ

Kyoiku means education in Japanese, thus kyoiku mama means “education mama.” This is equivalent to “tiger parents” or “helicopter parents” in the US. The image that this term conjures up is that of a mother who does everything necessary to ensure their child is successful in their studies, from before they take their first school entrance exam to their entrance into a top university. In traditional Japanese society, fathers work endless hours and mothers stay at home; therefore, mothers are involved in all aspects of education and child rearing. Kyoiku mama takes it to the extreme, even unnecessarily pushing their children to success.

「あの私立校には特に教育ママが多いという評判です。」

“That private school has a reputation for having a lot of kyoiku mama.” or “That private school has a reputation for having a lot of obsessive mothers.”

Soft Skill / sofuto sukiru / ソフトスキル

Soft skills is something I’ve heard in English as well, and this term means “people skills.” This is opposed to hard skills, which are technical skills.

「キャリアが進んでいくにつれ、ソフトスキルがより重要になります。」

“As your career advances, soft skills become more important.” or “As your career advances, people skills become more important.”

 

Try out these phrases to add a little flair to your Japanese!

Do you know any other wasei eigo phrases that relate to school or work? Let me know in the comments!

 

英語が話せる人が和製英語を初めて聞いたら、ちょっと分かりにくいところがありますね。英語の言葉だけど、和製英語の意味は普通の英語とちょっと違いますね。

今日は教育や仕事の関係の表現について書こうと思います。

オバードクター

英語で言うと、オバードクターは医者さん（ドクター）が心配し過ぎて、少ししつこいの感じです。和製英語の意味だと、オバードクターじゃなくて、英語でunderemployed and over-educatedと言います。それ以外、もっと短い表現はないと思います。

「最近、この国でオーバードクター問題が社会問題になりました。」

“Recently, the amount of underemployed, over-educated people has become a social issue in this country.”

パラサイトシングル

アメリカ人はパラサイトシングルって聞いたら、実家に住んでる人のイメージではありません。むしろ、結婚してない人は少ししつこいのイメージが出て来ます。最近、アメリカでパラサイトシングルの人も増えてきたのでそういう表現は英語でも作りました。英吾で、boomerang generationと言われるらしいです。その表現は一人だけではなくて、ジェネレーションについての表現ですよ。一人の事だったら、parasite（パラサイト）でも言えます。

「就活失敗したから、やっぱりパラサイトシングルの生活になりますよ。」

“I failed at job hunting, so I guess I will have to join the parasite single lifestyle.” か “I failed at job hunting, so I guess I’ll have to go live at home and be a parasite to my parents.”

教育ママ

アメリカ人は教育がわかりませんが、education mamaって言われたら、大体意味が分かります。英吾でtiger parentsかhelicopter parentsと言います。母や父、どっちでも使える表現です。

「あの私立校には特に教育ママが多いという評判です。」

“That private school has a reputation for having a lot of helicopter parents.”

ソフトスキル

英吾でもソフトスキルっていう言葉聞いたことがありますが、people skillsの言い方は普通です。

「キャリアが進んでいくにつれ、ソフトスキルがより重要になります。」

“As your career advances, soft skills become more important.” か “As your career advances, people skills become more important.”

 

他の教育や仕事の関係の和製英語は何でしょうか？コメントでどうぞ書いてください！