Han-don (半ドン – Half-holiday)
Han-don
半ドン
The Japanese term han-don (半ドン) describes a day when classes or business ends before noon and the rest of the day is off.
午前中に授業や業務が終了し、午後から休みであることを「半ドン」と言います。
Since han (半) means “half,” and don (ドン) comes from the Dutch “Zondag,” meaning “Sunday,” the literal meaning of han-don is “half Sunday.”
「半」は “half”、「ドン」は「日曜日」を意味するオランダ語 “Zondag” から来ているので、「半ドン」の文字どおりの意味は “half Sunday” となります。
In the past, in Japan, it was common for schools and companies to have Saturday afternoons off, and han-don was almost synonymous with “Saturday.”
かつて日本では、学校や会社において、土曜日が午後から休みであることが多く、「半ドン」は土曜日の代名詞でもありました。
However, the five-day workweek system has recently become widespread, and the term han-don is gradually becoming obsolete.
しかし最近では週休二日制が浸透し、「半ドン」は死後となりつつあります。
Incidentally, in the Netherlands and some European countries, the four-day workweek (a three-day weekend) system is being introduced.
ちなみにオランダやヨーロッパの幾つかの国では、週休3日制の導入が進みつつあります。
