おやびん

Japanese

Etymology

Alternation of 親分(おやぶん) (oyabun, “boss; father figure”). (This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [o̞ja̠bʲĩɴ]

Noun

おやびん • (oyabin) 

1. (slang, childish) boss, chief
   • 2012, Wada Shizuka, Ongaku ni koi o shite: hyōden Yukawa Reiko [Falling in love with music: biography of Yukawa Reiko], page 7:

     近(きん)所(じょ)に住(す)む光(みつ)くんが「おやびん!」と叫(さけ)んで、木(き)切(ぎ)れを振(ふ)り回(まわ)しながら追(お)いかけてきた。すっかりお山(やま)の大(たい)将(しょう)気(き)分(ぶん)だったが、本(ほん)当(とう)は近(きん)所(じょ)の子(こ)どもたちが「湯(ゆ)野(の)川(がわ)のお嬢(じょう)様(さま)に何(なに)かあったら大(たい)変(へん)だ」と、たいそう気(き)を使(つか)ってくれていたこと

     Kinjo ni sumu Mitsu-kun ga “Oyabin!” to sakende, kigire o furi mawashi nagara oikakete kita. Sukkari oyama no taishō kibun datta ga, hontō wa kinjo no kodomotachi ga “Yunogawa no ojōsama ni nanika attara taihen da” to, tai sō ki o tsukatte kurete ita koto

     A boy living in the neighborhood, Mitsu-kun, shouted “Oyabin!” and followed around after me wielding a wooden stick. I felt like the king of the hill, but really the children from the neighborhood were saying, “It would be terrible if something happened to our Miss Yunogawa,” and joining the exercise very carefully

   • 2018 August 19, pecori no iwa, “Oyabun to oyabin wa dotchi ga tsuyoi desu ka? [Boss or bossy, which is stonger?]”, in Excite! blog‎^[1]:

     ワタクシは親(おや)分(ぶん)と呼(よ)ばれることがそんなに心(ここ)地(ち)良(よ)くなかったので「ちょっとホントにやめてーっ！」 […] あまりに理(り)不(ふ)尽(じん)なのでワタクシもオットのことをその５(ご)年(ねん)位(くらい)前(まえ)から“親(おや)びん“　と呼(よ)ぶことにした[。]なので我(わ)が家(いえ)には親(おや)分(ぶん)と親(おや)びんがいるのだがオットが「親(おや)分(ぶん)のいうコトは絶(ぜっ)対(たい)なんで！」と言(い)えばワタクシはワタクシで「親(おや)びんの言(い)うコト聞(き)かないと　家(いえ)からつまみ出(だ)されちゃうんで！」

     Watakushi wa oyabun to yobareru koto ga sonnani kokochi yokunakatta no de “chotto honto ni yametē'!” […] Amarini rifujin na no de watakushi mo otto no koto o sono gonen kurai mae kara “oyabin “ to yobu koto ni shita[.] Nanode waga ie ni wa oyabun to oyabin ga iru no da ga otto ga “oyabun no iu koto wa zettai nande!” to ieba watakushi wa watakushi de “oyabin no iu koto kikanai to ie kara tsumami dasare chau n de!”

     Him calling me “boss” made me so uncomfortable that I said, “Hey, really, stop it!” […] He was so unreasonable, so about five years ago I started calling my husband “oyabin”. So now in our house there is an oyabun and an oyabin, so when my husband says, “What the boss says absolutely goes,” I think, “If you don't listen to oyabin, you’ll be thrown right out of the house!”

   • 2020 November 6, Haruna Yamazaki, quoting Twitter user @mabotan0608, “Saikin Twitter de yoku miru ‘Oyabin’ tte dare no koto? [Who is this ‘Oyabin’ we see mentioned on Twitter recently?]”, in BuzzFeed Japan‎^[2]:

     ゆっくり寝(ね)て下(くだ)さい✨　松(まつ)井(い)さん！！いや！松(まつ)井(い)おやびん😭♥　おやすみなさいませませ！！

     Yukkuri nete kudasai✨ Matsui-san!! Iya! Matsui-oyabin😭♥ Oyasumi nasaimase mase!!

     Sleep well, Matsui-san!! No! Matsui-oyabin! Do get some rest!!

Proper noun

おやびん or オヤビン • (Oyabin) 

1. (This is a hot sense, kept provisionally) (Internet slang, endearing, used by supporters) Donald Trump, American president [from c. 2020?]
   • 2020 November 6, Haruna Yamazaki, quoting an anonymous Twitter user from October 28, 2019, “Saikin Twitter de yoku miru ‘Oyabin’ tte dare no koto? [Who is this ‘Oyabin’ we see mentioned on Twitter recently?]”, in BuzzFeed Japan‎^[3]:

     厨(ちゅう)国(ごく)ひどいな。トランプおやびんに何(なん)とかしてもらいたい。

     Chūgoku hidoi na. Toranpu-oyabin ni nantokashite morai tai.

     Tchina is terrible, huh. I want Boss Trump to do something.

   • 2021 March 29, Nakayama Toshihiro, “Miete kita Baiden gaikō no rinkaku... mō ‘Toranpu-oyabin’ wa inai [A look at Biden’s diplomacy... ‘Boss Trump’ is gone]”, in FNN Prime Online‎^[4]:

     トランプ大(だい)統(とう)領(りょう)のことを一(いち)部(ぶ)の日(に)本(ほん)のトランプ支(し)持(じ)者(しゃ)たちは、「おやびん」と呼(よ)んでいた。トランプ時(じ)代(だい)は、ある意(い)味(み)、「おやびん」の後(あと)をついていけば良(よ)かった。

     Toranpu Daitōryō no koto o ichibu no Nihon no Toranpu shijishatachi wa, “Oyabin” to yondeita. Toranpu jidai wa, aru imi, “Oyabin” no ato o tsuite ikeba yokatta.

     President Trump was called Oyabin by some Japanese Trump supporters. In the Trump era, in some sense, it was good to follow Oyabin.

Usage notes

The use of おやびん (Oyabin) as a nickname for then-US President Donald Trump may have originated as a sly criticism of then-Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, suggesting that the US leader was the “boss” of the Japanese one. The usage was adopted by some supporters of Mr. Trump, as someone who would look after and take care of his followers.