Skip to content

【No. 2024】Kai Goroshi (飼い殺し - Keeping Somebody on the Payroll)

May 7, 2023 17:49
Kai Goroshi

When someone does not receive appropriate treatment in organizations or human relationships and is left unattended, the situation is sometimes described as kai goroshi (飼い殺し) in Japanese.

Since kai (飼い) means "to keep (animals)" and goroshi/koroshi (殺し) means "to kill," the literal meaning of kai goroshi is "to keep and kill something."

Originally, this phrase was used to mean that useless animals were kept until they died.

Later, it came to be used to mean "to hire someone in a job without giving them an appropriate position" or "a situation where someone refuses to leave his/her lover even though there is no romantic interest."
飼い殺し

組織や人間関係において、本人に見合った施しが与えられず、そのままの状態にされることを「飼い殺し」と表現することがあります。

「飼い」は "to keep (animals)"、「殺し」は "to kill" を意味するので、「飼い殺し」の文字どおりの意味は "to keep and kill something" となります。

もともとは役に立たなくなった動物を死ぬまで飼うことを表す言葉でした。

それが転じて、「見合った役職を与えずに雇い続けること」や、「恋愛感情がないのに別れようとしないこと」などの意味で使われるようになったというわけです。

Corrections (1)

No. 1 O-Star
  • Kai Goroshi (飼い殺し - Keeping Somebody on the Payroll)
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Kai Goroshi
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • When someone does not receive appropriate treatment in organizations or human relationships and is left unattended, the situation is sometimes described as 'kai goroshi' (飼い殺し) in Japanese.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Since 'kai' (飼い) means "to keep (animals)" and 'goroshi/koroshi' (殺し) means "to kill," the literal meaning of 'kai goroshi' is "to keep and kill something."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Originally, this phrase was used to mean that useless animals were kept until they died.
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
  • Later, it came to be used to mean "to hire someone in a job without giving them an appropriate position" or "a situation where someone refuses to leave his/her lover even though there is no romantic interest."
  • This sentence is perfect! No correction needed!
Toru
Thank you for reading my entry!
O-Star
You're welcome

Comments