員

• Reading: いん
• Romaji: in
• Kanji breakdown: 員 (in) — member, personnel
• Pronunciation: /iɴ/

Meaning

Member; personnel. A suffix meaning 'a member of ~' or 'person in a role.'

Primarily used as a suffix attached to other words to indicate membership or a role, such as 会社員 (kaishain, company employee), 委員 (iin, committee member), 店員 (tenin, store clerk), and 駅員 (ekiin, station staff). Rarely used alone. One of the most productive suffixes in Japanese for describing occupations and roles.

Examples

1. 兄は銀行の行員です。 My older brother is a bank employee.
2. 委員になりたい人はいますか。 Is there anyone who wants to be on the committee?
3. 店員にサイズを聞きました。 I asked a store clerk about the size.

Usage Guide

Context: work, organizations, daily life

Tone: neutral

Origin & History

From Chinese 員 (yuán). The kanji originally depicted a round vessel, and its meaning extended to 'a member of a circle/group,' then to 'member' or 'personnel' in general.

Cultural Context

Era: Classical

Generation: All ages

Social background: Universal