シカト

• Reading: シカト
• Romaji: shikato
• Kanji breakdown: From 鹿の十 (shika no tō, the deer-ten card in hanafuda) where the deer looks away → ignoring someone
• Pronunciation: /ɕi.ka.to/

Meaning

Deliberately ignoring someone or giving them the cold shoulder — a pointed, silent rejection.

シカト is stronger than simply not noticing someone — it implies a deliberate decision to ignore. It is common in school bullying contexts (いじめ), where groups collectively シカト one person. It can also describe ignoring messages, calls, or attempts at conversation. The word carries a distinctly negative and sometimes hurtful nuance.

Examples

1. LINE送ったのにシカトされてへこんだ。 I sent a LINE message and got completely ghosted — it bummed me out.
2. あいつに何か言ってもシカトだから話すだけ無駄。 No matter what you say to that guy it's radio silence, so talking to him is pointless.
3. シカトするのって一番タチが悪いいじめだと思う。 I think ignoring someone is the nastiest form of bullying.

Usage Guide

Context: friends, school, social media, complaints

Tone: frustrated, accusatory

Do Say

• あいつにシカトされてるんだけどなんかした？ (That guy is ignoring me — did I do something?)
• メッセージシカトしないでよ。 (Don't ignore my messages.)

Don't Say

• 目上の人に「シカトしないでください」は乱暴 (Saying 'don't shikato me' to a superior is too rough — use 無視しないでいただけますか)

Common Mistakes

• Using シカト for accidentally overlooking something — it specifically implies deliberate, intentional ignoring

Origin & History

From the hanafuda (花札) card game: the deer card for October (鹿の十, shika no tō) depicts a deer looking away, which became slang for ignoring someone. The abbreviation シカト became youth slang in the 1980s-90s.

Cultural Context

Era: Hanafuda origins, youth slang since 1980s-90s

Generation: Teens to 40s primarily

Social background: Universal

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. Often associated with school bullying (いじめ) discussions.