(いんきょ)(にん)

いんきょにん
noun
retired person; recluse
personsociety
1. retired person; person in retirement
A person who has withdrawn from active work or public life to live quietly. Traditionally referred to a household head who had handed over authority to a successor.
My grandfather lives quietly as a retired person.
会社(かいしゃ)引退(いんたい)した(ちち)すっかり隠居(いんきょ)(にん)になった。
My father, who retired from the company, has become a complete retiree.
定年後(ていねんご)隠居(いんきょ)(にん)なるつもりなくボランティア活動(かつどう)したい
After retirement age, I don't plan to become a recluse — I want to stay active through volunteer work.
In the Edo period, many retirees devoted themselves to hobbies after handing over the family headship.
2. recluse; person living in seclusion
A person who has chosen to withdraw from society and live a quiet, secluded life, often with connotations of contentment and simplicity.
I long for a life like a recluse living deep in the mountains.
He looks like a recluse cut off from the world, but he's actually very active online sharing information.
In the Edo period, many retirees devoted themselves to hobbies after handing over the family headship.

A compound of 隠居(いんきょ) (retirement, seclusion) and (にん) (person). In premodern Japan, 隠居(いんきょ) specifically meant the formal act of a household head (家長(かちょう)) transferring authority and property to a successor. The word 隠居人(いんきょにん) can carry either a positive nuance of peaceful retirement or a slightly negative implication of being idle and disengaged.

Common collocations

Similar words

  • 隠居(いんきょ): retirement, seclusion — the act or state itself, not the person
  • 引退者(いんたいしゃ): retired person — a more modern, neutral term
  • 年金(ねんきん)生活者(せいかつしゃ): pensioner — focuses on living on a pension