忖度

• 読み: そんたく
• ローマ字: sontaku
• 漢字の分解: 忖 (son/hakaru) — to measure another's mind; 度 (taku/hakaru) — to measure, estimate
• 発音: /soɴ.ta.kɯ/

意味

Surmising another's intentions; reading the room; acting in anticipation of what a superior desires without being explicitly told.

Originally a neutral literary term meaning to infer or surmise another's thoughts. It became a buzzword (流行語) in 2017 amid political scandals involving bureaucrats appearing to act on behalf of politicians without explicit orders — giving plausible deniability. Now carries a strong connotation of problematic deference to power. Distinct from thoughtful consideration (配慮) in that 忖度 involves acting to please a superior at the expense of proper procedure.

例文

1. 忖度によって公文書が改ざんされたのではないかと疑われている。
2. 部下が上司の意向を忖度して、都合の悪いデータを隠した。
3. 忖度なしに意見を言える職場環境が健全な組織には不可欠だ。

使い方ガイド

場面: politics, bureaucracy, workplace dynamics, social commentary

トーン: critical

起源と歴史

A Sino-Japanese word from classical Chinese, 忖 and 度 both mean 'to measure or estimate (another's mind).' In Chinese and pre-modern Japanese, it was a neutral term for empathetic consideration. Its current negative nuance in Japanese is largely a product of the post-2017 political context.

文化的背景

時代: Modern

世代: All ages

社会的背景: Universal