1.
quota; assigned target; workload one must complete
An amount of work or sales one is required to achieve within a set period. Usually imposed from above and felt as a burden, so the word carries a distinctly grim tone.
From Russian *norma*, borrowed via accounts of Soviet labour targets brought back by returnees after the war — one of very few Russian loanwords in everyday Japanese.
Common collocations
- ノルマを達成する: to meet a quota
- ノルマを果たす: to fulfil a quota
- ノルマがきつい: the quota is harsh
- ノルマに追われる: to be driven by quotas
Similar words
- 目標: goal — something you aim for, with no sense of obligation
- 割り当て: allotment — a neutral share assigned to each person
Because ノルマ implies pressure, a self-imposed target is stated as 自分なりのノルマ, which sounds half-joking about the strictness.