忖度する
そんたくする
verb
to surmise someone's feelings; to read the room
Conjugation
| Affirmative | Negative | |
|---|---|---|
| Present | 忖度する | 忖度しない |
| Present polite | 忖度します | 忖度しません |
| Past | 忖度した | 忖度しなかった |
| Past polite | 忖度しました | 忖度しませんでした |
| て form | 忖度して | 忖度しなくて |
| ている present | 忖度している | 忖度していない |
| ている polite | 忖度しています | 忖度していません |
| ている past | 忖度していた | 忖度していなかった |
| ている past polite | 忖度していました | 忖度していませんでした |
| Conditional ば | 忖度すれば | 忖度しなければ |
| Conditional たら | 忖度したら | 忖度しなかったら |
| Volitional | 忖度しよう | — |
| Volitional polite | 忖度しましょう | — |
| Potential | 忖度できる | 忖度できない |
| Passive | 忖度される | 忖度されない |
| Causative | 忖度させる | 忖度させない |
| Imperative | 忖度しろ | 忖度するな |
1.
to surmise; to conjecture someone's thoughts or wishes
To guess or infer what someone else is thinking or feeling, especially a superior's unspoken wishes, and to act accordingly.
上司の意向を忖度する。
To surmise the boss's intentions.
相手の気持ちを忖度して行動した。
I acted after reading the other person's feelings.
官僚が政治家の意向を忖度して手続きを進めたとされる。
It is alleged that bureaucrats pushed through procedures after surmising the politician's wishes.
An old literary word that gained massive popular attention around 2017 due to a Japanese political scandal (森友問題), where bureaucrats were accused of acting on the unspoken wishes of powerful politicians. Before this, 忖度 was a relatively obscure word known mainly to educated readers.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 意向を忖度する: to surmise someone's intentions
- 気持ちを忖度する: to guess someone's feelings
- 政治的忖度: political deference to unspoken wishes
- 忖度政治: politics of unspoken influence
USAGE:
Originally neutral or even positive (showing sensitivity to others' feelings), the word has acquired a strongly negative connotation in political contexts, suggesting sycophantic behavior — acting to please superiors without being explicitly instructed. In everyday usage, it can still be neutral, meaning simply to be considerate of others' unspoken needs.
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 察する: to sense, to perceive — more everyday, broader in meaning
- 配慮する: to show consideration — focuses on the action of being considerate, not the guessing
- 空気を読む: to read the room — colloquial, similar concept of sensing unspoken social dynamics