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サボる (saboru)

sa-BO-ruverbInformal

A Japanese slang term. Browse all Japanese slang.

What it means

  1. To skive; to skip a class or a shift, or to coast through work you are supposed to be doing.

Examples with translations

  • 昨日、授業サボっちゃった。

    I bunked off class yesterday.

  • 掃除サボってるでしょ。

    You've been slacking on the cleaning, haven't you?

Where it comes from

From French sabotage, clipped to サボ and given the Japanese verb ending -る. The same machinery produces ググる (to google) and メモる (to jot down); it is the single most productive slang pattern in the language.

First attested: 1920s

Other forms

Romanised as:
saboru