Out of a job
Idioms, Stage 1chunk 19 of 21Luck, trouble & outcomes
Being fired, firing someone, or leaving a shady line of work behind.
- kubi ni naruget fired, lose one's jobliterally “become a neck”
- kubi ni surufire someoneliterally “make (someone) a neck (as in beheading)”
- ashi o araugo straight, quit a shady lifeliterally “wash one's feet”
Mix-ups kubi ni naru (you get fired) vs kubi ni suru (you fire someone); ashi o arau is quitting by choice, not being fired.
kubi ni naru
polite kubi ni narimasu
“become a neck”
get fired, lose one's job
In English: get the sack
The everyday way to say you or someone else lost a job. It is nearly always in the past (kubi ni natta), or just kubi da. It is not for quitting by choice, which is yameru.
A bare kubi! means 'You're fired!'; the formal word is kaiko sareru.
kare, kaisha kubi ni natta rashii yo
Apparently he got fired.
彼、会社クビになったらしいよ
kare, kaisha o kubi ni natta rashii desu yo
I hear he was let go from his company.
彼、会社をクビになったらしいですよ
Written クビになる · くびになるHeard 226× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside kubi ni suruMain list naru (Stage 1), -ku naru / -ni naru (Stage 4)
kubi ni suru
polite kubi ni shimasu
“make (someone) a neck (as in beheading)”
fire someone
In English: give someone the sack
The boss's side of firing. You hear it as a threat (kubi ni suru zo) or in the passive from the person who lost the job (kubi ni sareta). Use kubi ni naru for a plain 'got fired' that doesn't say who did it.
Formal equivalent: kaiko suru (dismiss).
tenchou ni kubi ni sareta
The manager fired me.
店長にクビにされた
tenchou ni kubi ni saremashita
The manager let me go.
店長にクビにされました
Written クビにする · くびにするHeard 270× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesLearn alongside kubi ni naruMain list suru (Stage 1), -areru / -rareru (Stage 2)
ashi o arau
polite ashi o araimasu
“wash one's feet”
go straight, quit a shady life
In English: go straight
Said about leaving crime, gambling or a dubious job for good, and jokingly about any bad habit: X kara ashi o arau. It does not mean 'wash one's hands of', which is te o hiku.
Plain alternative: yameru (quit).
pachinko kara wa mou ashi o aratta yo
I've quit pachinko for good.
パチンコからはもう足を洗ったよ
pachinko kara wa mou ashi o araimashita
I've given up pachinko for good.
パチンコからはもう足を洗いました
Written 足を洗う · あしをあらうHeard 50× in 3.17 million lines of film and TV subtitlesMain list mou (Stage 1)