社畜

• Reading: しゃちく
• Romaji: shachiku
• Kanji breakdown: 社 (company, from 会社) + 畜 (livestock, from 家畜) → corporate livestock
• Pronunciation: /ɕa.tɕi.ku/

Meaning

A corporate slave — someone who works excessively long hours with blind loyalty to their company, sacrificing personal life.

社畜 is a biting term that combines 'company' and 'livestock,' implying that the worker is treated like an animal by their employer. It's widely used as self-deprecating humor by overworked office workers, especially on social media. While originally a harsh criticism of Japanese corporate culture, many people now use it half-jokingly to describe their own situation.

Examples

1. 毎日終電まで働いて完全に社畜だわ。 I'm working until the last train every day — I'm a total corporate slave.
2. 社畜やめたくてフリーランスに転職したけど、結局もっと働いてる。 I quit the corporate slave life and went freelance, but I ended up working even more.
3. うちの会社、社畜が多すぎて誰も定時に帰らない。 Our company has so many corporate slaves that nobody leaves on time.

Usage Guide

Context: friends, social media, casual conversation

Tone: self-deprecating, darkly humorous

Do Say

• 今月もう80時間残業してる、完全に社畜。 (I've already done 80 hours of overtime this month — total corporate slave.)
• 社畜生活から脱出したい。 (I want to escape the corporate slave life.)

Don't Say

• 上司に「社畜ですね」は絶対言わない (Never say 'you're a corporate slave' to your boss — extremely rude even if true)

Common Mistakes

• Using 社畜 to describe someone who simply works hard — it specifically implies excessive, unhealthy overwork with little reward
• Using it in formal contexts like business presentations — it's strictly casual and often self-deprecating

Origin & History

Coined in the 1990s by combining 会社 (company) and 家畜 (livestock/domestic animal). Popularized during the era of extreme overwork in Japanese corporations and became widespread internet slang in the 2000s.

Cultural Context

Era: 1990s coinage, widespread from 2000s onward

Generation: All working-age adults

Social background: Office workers, especially salaried employees

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. One of the most iconic terms criticizing Japanese corporate overwork culture.