karoshi (English)

Where does "karoshi" come from?

The English word 'karoshi' is a direct borrowing from the Japanese term 'karōshi,' which is a compound meaning 'death from overwork.' It is formed by combining the characters for 'overwork' (karō) and 'death' (shi) to describe a modern social phenomenon. This term serves as a linguistic doublet to similar expressions in other languages, such as the Chinese 'guolaosi' and the Korean 'gwarosa.'

Full etymology tree

• karoshi (English), 'Death, such as from heart attack or stroke, brought on by overwork or job-related stress.'
  • borrowed 過労死 (karōshi) (Japanese), 'karoshi (death from overwork)'
    • compound 過労 (karō) (Japanese), 'overwork'
    • compound 死 (shi) (Japanese)

Direct ancestors

• 過労死 (Japanese)
• guolaosi (English)
• gwarosa (English)

Updated June 2026

Etymology data from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0 · About Miraris