サボる

• 読み: サボる
• ローマ字: saboru
• 漢字の分解: From French 'sabotage' → サボタージュ → サボ + Japanese verb suffix る → サボる (to slack off)
• 発音: /sa.bo.ɾu/

意味

To skip, slack off, or play hooky. A verb formed from the French/English word 'sabotage' combined with the Japanese verb suffix る.

サボる is a well-established verb meaning to skip an obligation (class, work, chores) or to slack off. Despite its origins in 'sabotage,' the modern usage is much lighter — it implies laziness or avoidance rather than deliberate destruction. It is commonly used by students talking about skipping class and by workers talking about slacking off. The word has been in Japanese for decades and is widely understood across all generations.

例文

1. 今日の授業サボって映画見に行こうぜ。
2. バイトサボりたい気分だけど、さすがにまずいか。
3. 掃除当番サボるやつ、毎回同じ人なんだよね。

使い方ガイド

場面: student life, work, daily conversation

トーン: casual, slightly guilty

正しい言い方

• 今日の会議サボりたい。 (I want to skip today's meeting.)
• またサボってるの？ (Are you slacking off again?)

避ける言い方

• 上司に「サボってました」とは言えない (Don't tell your boss you were 'sabotting' — too blunt and self-incriminating)

よくある間違い

• Not knowing サボる comes from French 'sabotage' — it is one of the few French-origin words in everyday Japanese
• Thinking サボる implies malicious intent — it simply means skipping or being lazy, not sabotage

起源と歴史

From French 'sabotage' (via English) → サボタージュ (sabotāju) → サボ + Japanese verb suffix る. Adopted in the early 20th century during the labour movement era, originally referring to work slowdowns, but evolved to mean simply skipping or slacking off.

文化的背景

時代: Early 20th century origin, universally used since postwar era

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal

地域メモ: Used across all of Japan. One of the oldest foreign-origin verb formations in modern Japanese.