(こういん)

こういん
noun
bank employee; bank clerk
1. bank employee; bank clerk
A person who works at a bank. The term covers all bank staff from tellers to office workers, but does not include executive management.
行員(こういん)口座(こうざ)開設(かいせつ)(たの)んだ。
I asked a bank employee to open an account.
彼女(かのじょ)大手(おおて)銀行(ぎんこう)行員(こういん)として(はたら)いている。
She works as an employee at a major bank.
窓口(まどぐち)行員(こういん)丁寧(ていねい)手続(てつづ)きの説明(せつめい)をしてくれた。
The bank clerk at the counter politely explained the procedure to me.

A compound of (こう) (abbreviation of 銀行(ぎんこう), bank) and (いん) (member, staff). This word follows the common Japanese pattern of abbreviating an organization name and adding (いん) to refer to its employees, similar to 社員(しゃいん) (company employee) and 駅員(えきいん) (station staff).

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 銀行(ぎんこう)行員(こういん): bank employee (with full form for clarity)
  • 窓口(まどぐち)行員(こういん): teller, counter clerk
  • 行員(こういん)として(つと)める: to work as a bank employee

SIMILAR WORDS:

  • 銀行員(ぎんこういん): bank employee — the full, unabbreviated form; slightly more common in everyday speech
  • 社員(しゃいん): company employee — the parallel term for general companies
  • 局員(きょくいん): post office employee — the equivalent for postal workers
  • 工員(こういん): factory worker — a homophone with completely different meaning; uses (こう) (craft, factory) instead of (こう) (bank)