How to say "retirement" in Japanese
Choosing the right word
- 引退いんたいnoun, suru verb, intransitive verbLeaving a profession or active career, often with a sense of stepping back from the stage for good; typical for athletes, performers, or people announcing they will retire from a field.
- 退職たいしょくnoun, suru verb, intransitive verbRetirement from a job in the ordinary employment sense, including leaving a company; also covers simple resignation. The usual word for one's retirement from work.
- noun, suru verb, intransitive verbThe loanword for retirement; usable for leaving work or a career, and also common for dropping out of a race or competition. A casual alternative to 引退.
- 隠居いんきょnoun, suru verb, intransitive verbRetirement in the sense of withdrawing from work and leading a quiet life afterward; suggests seclusion or a hermit-like existence more than the act of leaving a job.
- 退任たいにんnoun, suru verb, intransitive verbStepping down from a post or position of responsibility, such as a directorship or official role; it is about leaving an office, not about retiring from working life generally.
Use 引退 or 退職 for leaving a job (引退 often for athletes or a definitive career end, 退職 for ordinary quitting), 「リタイア」 as the loanword, 隠居 for withdrawn post-retirement life, and 退任 for leaving a position.
Usage comparisons are AI-assisted and cross-checked by multiple models; for study reference only
Japanese equivalents
- 引退いんたいretirement
- 退職たいしょくretirement
- リタイアretirement
- 隠居いんきょretirement (from work)
- 退任たいにんretirement
- 退却たいきゃくretreat
- 退陣たいじんresignation
- 引っ込みひっこみretreat
- 隠遁いんとんretirement (from the world)
- 退隠たいいんretirement (from an official position)
- 去り際さりぎわ(moment of) departure
- 隠退いんたいseclusion
- 幽居ゆうきょhermitage
- 籠居ろうきょstaying at home or indoors
- 定年退職ていねんたいしょく(compulsory) retirement (on reaching retirement age)
- 定年ていねん(compulsory) retirement (on reaching retirement age)
See also
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