お局

• Reading: おつぼね
• Romaji: otsubone
• Kanji breakdown: お (honorific prefix) + 局 (bureau/office, historically a lady's private chamber in a palace)
• Pronunciation: /o.tsɯ.bo.ne/

Meaning

A senior female employee who acts bossy or bullies younger colleagues, especially other women.

お局 refers to a woman who has been at a company for a long time and wields informal power to intimidate newer employees. The stereotype includes being critical of younger women's clothing, relationships, or work habits, and creating a hostile work environment through passive-aggressive behavior. While the term highlights a real workplace dynamic, it's considered sexist by many as it specifically targets women and ignores similar behavior by men.

Examples

1. うちの部署のお局がめっちゃ怖くて毎日憂鬱。 The office queen bee in our department is so scary — every day is miserable.
2. 新人がお局に目をつけられて、もう泣きそうになってた。 The new hire got on the office queen bee's bad side and was nearly in tears.
3. お局に気に入られるかどうかで職場の居心地が全然違う。 Whether you're in the queen bee's good graces or not totally changes how comfortable the workplace feels.

Usage Guide

Context: friends, workplace gossip, social media

Tone: gossipy, complaining

Do Say

• お局がいない日は職場の空気が全然違う。 (The office atmosphere is completely different when the お局 isn't there.)
• どこの会社にもお局っているよね。 (Every company has that one bossy senior woman, right?)

Don't Say

• 本人の前で「お局」は絶対NG (Never call someone お局 to their face — it's extremely insulting)
• 男性の上司にはお局と言わない (The term isn't used for male bosses who bully — it's specifically gendered)

Common Mistakes

• Using お局 for any senior woman — it specifically implies someone who bullies or intimidates, not just someone who's been there long
• Not recognizing the term's sexist implications — it's increasingly criticized for unfairly targeting women

Origin & History

From 御局 (otsubone), a title for senior ladies-in-waiting in the Edo-period imperial court or shogun's household. Applied to modern workplaces to describe veteran female employees who dominate their department. The drama 大奥 (Ōoku) reinforced the image.

Cultural Context

Era: Edo-period origin, modern workplace usage from 1990s onward

Generation: All working-age adults

Social background: Office workers

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. Increasingly seen as problematic and sexist, though still widely used in casual conversation.