Translation

office worker / white-collar worker / company employee / corporate employee / businessman

Meaning

'Salaryman' is NOT a real English word. It does not exist in standard English dictionaries, and native English speakers will not understand it. It is wasei-eigo (和製英語, Japanese-made English): a compound invented in Japan using English components 'salary' and 'man'. In Japan, サラリーマン describes a male white-collar company employee who works full-time for a corporation. The archetype includes joining a large company after university, working long hours, showing loyalty to the company over many years, and following a traditional career path with promotions and seniority-based pay. In English, there is no single equivalent word that captures all of this. The closest translations are 'office worker' (most neutral), 'white-collar worker' (emphasizes the type of work), 'company employee', or 'corporate employee'. In a job-related conversation, if you say 'I am a salaryman', a native English speaker will likely pause and ask you to clarify. Use 'I work in an office' or 'I am a company employee' instead.

Examples

• 父は大手商社のサラリーマンとして30年間働いた。
  My father worked as a company employee at a large trading firm for thirty years.
• 電車の中はサラリーマンで混んでいた。
  The train was packed with office workers.