切り捨てる

• Reading: きりすてる
• Romaji: kirisuteru
• Kanji breakdown: 切 (setsu/ki) — cut; 捨 (sha) — discard, abandon, throw away
• Pronunciation: /ki.ɾi.sɯ.te.ɾɯ/

Meaning

To cut down (as a swordsman); to discard; to abandon without regret; to truncate in mathematics; to dismiss a person, idea, or option entirely.

A Group 2 (ichidan) verb with historical roots in the samurai code, referring to cutting down someone and leaving the body behind, as in the expression 切り捨て御免 (the right to strike down a commoner). In modern usage, it describes coldly discarding something or someone deemed no longer useful — a business unit, an idea, or a person. The mathematical sense of rounding down or truncating a decimal is also standard. All uses share the nuance of clean, deliberate, often ruthless elimination.

Examples

1. 不採算事業を切り捨てて経営資源を集中させる戦略を打ち出した。 The company announced a strategy of cutting unprofitable business units and concentrating management resources.
2. 都合の悪い事実を切り捨て、自分に有利な部分だけを強調するのは誠実ではない。 It is not honest to discard inconvenient facts and emphasise only what is favourable to oneself.
3. 少数派の意見を安易に切り捨てることは、民主主義の本質を損なう恐れがある。 Casually dismissing minority opinions risks undermining the very essence of democracy.

Usage Guide

Context: business, politics, ethics, mathematics, management

Tone: assertive

Origin & History

Compound of 切る (to cut) and 捨てる (to discard, to throw away). Historically referred to the samurai practice of striking down and leaving the body. Extended to mean abandoning or eliminating without hesitation.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: All ages

Social background: All classes