経歴（けいれき、keireki）
- career/background

The Japanese word 経歴 (けいれき) refers to a person's "career," "professional background," "work experience," or "personal history." It encompasses all the jobs, positions, education, and other relevant experiences a person has accumulated throughout their life, particularly in a professional context. It is often used to describe someone's qualifications and suitability for a particular role or opportunity. 経歴 is a summary of one's past experiences.

⚫︎山田さんの経歴は素晴らしいです。 Translation: Mr. Yamada's career is impressive. ⚫︎面接で経歴について聞かれました。 Translation: I was asked about my work experience in the interview. ⚫︎彼は長い経歴を持つベテランです。 Translation: He is a veteran with a long career.

You typically use 経歴 when discussing someone's professional history, often in formal settings like job applications, interviews, and business conversations. It's crucial when evaluating a candidate's suitability for a job or to understand someone's expertise and skills. You can also use it to discuss one's educational background if it is relevant to the topic. It is a very useful word when you talk about someone's past.

経歴 is written in kanji (経歴). The reading is けいれき in hiragana. It is not typically written in katakana. There are no significant variations in okurigana.

⚫︎職務経験 (しょくむけいけん) - Work experience ⚫︎キャリア (きゃりあ) - Career (loanword) ⚫︎経験 (けいけん) - Experience ⚫︎バックグラウンド (ばっくぐらうんど) - Background (loanword) ⚫︎履歴 (りれき) - History, usually in a more general sense ⚫︎職歴 (しょくれき) - Work history

There aren't direct antonyms for 経歴 as it refers to a set of experiences. However, words or phrases that imply a lack of experience or a different focus could be considered related.

彼女は、その会社で20年間の経歴があります。 ・Translation: She has a 20-year career at that company. ・Explanation: This sentence highlights the duration of someone's work history at a specific place.

彼は経歴詐称で解雇されました。 ・Translation: He was fired for misrepresenting his work experience. ・Explanation: This sentence illustrates the negative consequences of providing false information about one's career.

The word 経歴 is composed of two kanji: 経 (けい), which means "through," "pass through," or "experience," and 歴 (れき), which means "history," "record," or "sequence." Therefore, 経歴 literally means "a history of experiences" or "a record of what one has gone through."