How to say "overtime" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 残業ざんぎょうnoun, suru verb, intransitive verbThe everyday word for overtime work at a job. If you need to say that you worked overtime or that a job involves overtime, this is the word you will almost always want.
- 超勤ちょうきんnounA less common abbreviation referring to overtime work, heard mainly in workplace or administrative talk. For ordinary conversation about working overtime, prefer the fuller everyday term.
- nounA loanword covering 'overtime' more broadly, such as extra time in sports or other non-work senses. It is less common, so it is seldom the word you want for overtime work.
- 時間外じかんがいnounLiterally 'outside of hours', it refers to time beyond scheduled hours at a school, office, surgery and the like. Best in formal or institutional phrasing rather than casual talk about working late.
- 超過勤務ちょうかきんむno-adjectiveA formal term for overtime work, typical of official or bureaucratic contexts such as employment regulations and pay records. It is less common in everyday conversation than the ordinary workplace word.
Use 残業 for ordinary paid overtime work; 時間外 and 超過勤務 suit formal or institutional contexts; 超勤 is a less common abbreviation; 「オーバータイム」 is a rare loanword covering other senses of 'overtime'.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
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