ネクタイ
ネクタイ
nekutai
= necktie / tie
ネクタイ (nekutai) means necktie — a small piece of fabric that has played a surprisingly large role in Japanese professional culture and is currently at the center of one of Japan’s most interesting workplace changes: the gradual liberation from mandatory tie-wearing in offices across the country.
Nekutai refers to a necktie worn around the collar. Common phrases: ネクタイを締める (nekutai wo shimeru — to tie/put on a necktie), ネクタイを緩める (nekutai wo yurumeru — to loosen one’s tie), ネクタイを外す (nekutai wo hazusu — to take off one’s tie). Types: 無地ネクタイ (muji nekutai — solid-color tie), ストライプネクタイ (sutoraipunekutai — striped tie), 蝶ネクタイ (chou nekutai — bow tie; 蝶 = butterfly). A common idiom: ネクタイ族 (nekutai-zoku — the necktie tribe) referring to salaried office workers.
Picking the right ネクタイ is taken seriously in Japanese professional culture. Dark solid colors and subtle stripes are safe choices; loud patterns or novelty ties (キャラクターネクタイ, kyarakutaa nekutai — character-print ties) are reserved for casual or humorous occasions. The tie, combined with the 白シャツ (shiro shatsu — white shirt) and 黒スーツ (kuro suutsu — black suit), forms the standard 就活 (shuukatsu — job-hunting) uniform for Japanese male university students.
ネクタイ is a katakana loanword from English ‘necktie.’ There is no kanji form.
Everyday use
父は毎朝ネクタイを締めて出勤している。
Chichi wa maiasa nekutai wo shimete shukkin shite iru.
My father puts on a necktie every morning before going to work.
Casual / Social Media
クールビズ始まったからネクタイなくなって快適すぎる
Kuuru bizu hajimatta kara nekutai nakunatte kaitekisugiru
Cool Biz started so I don’t have to wear a tie anymore — so comfortable
Formal / Cultural context
クールビズ政策の導入以降、夏季における職場でのネクタイ着用率は大幅に低下しており、ビジネスカジュアルの定着とともに通年でのノーネクタイ化を容認する企業も増加している。
Kuuru bizu seisaku no dounyuu ikou, kakki ni okeru shokuba de no nekutai chakuyou-ritsu wa oohaba ni teika shite ori, bijinesu kajuaru no teichaku to tomo ni tsuugen de no noo-nekutai-ka wo younin suru kigyou mo zouka shite iru.
Since the introduction of Cool Biz, the rate of tie-wearing in workplaces during summer has declined significantly, and with the spread of business casual, more companies are now permitting year-round no-tie policies.
ネクタイ has been central to Japanese sarariiiman (サラリーマン — salaried worker) identity for decades. The image of rows of identically suited and tied office workers commuting on packed trains is one of the most internationally recognized symbols of Japan’s post-war economic growth period. The tie functioned as a uniform of commitment — wearing it correctly was a visible sign of professionalism and belonging to the organization.
The Cool Biz (クールビズ) campaign, launched by the Japanese government in 2005 to reduce summer electricity consumption by allowing employees to dress casually and raise air conditioning temperature settings, has been steadily eroding the mandatory ネクタイ norm. What began as a summer dispensation has expanded into year-round ‘Smart Biz’ (スマートビズ) dress codes at many companies. For younger workers entering a post-pandemic, remote-work-influenced labor market, the necktie is increasingly seen as an optional signifier of formality rather than a professional requirement — a significant cultural shift from even a decade ago.
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