Parasite¹ single is a single person who lives with their parents beyond their late 20s in order to enjoy a carefree and comfortable life. Unmarried Japanese adults typically live with their parents, and thus save on household expenses, and increasing the amount of money available to spend on their own entertainment.In Japanese culture, the term is especially used when negatively describing young unmarried women.

 

Parasite single（单身寄生族）指27、8岁还跟父母住在一起的单身人士，做出这样的选择是为了确保生活舒适无忧。未婚的日本成年子女多与父母同住，这样就可以节省家庭开销，子女们花在自己的娱乐活动方面的钱就能多一些。在日本文化中，这个词多用于对未婚女子的贬损评述。

 

The expression was first used by Professor Masahiro Yamada of Tokyo Gakugei University in his bestselling book The Age of Parasite Singles, published in October 1999. The catchy² phrase quickly found its way into the media and is now a well-known expression in Japan.

 

这个表达最早由东京学艺大学的正弘山田教授在他的《单身寄生族》一书中使用，这本书于1999年10月出版。这个吸引人的表达迅速被媒体采用并在日本成为流行词汇。

 

Parasite singles are often blamed for a large number of problems in Japan, ranging from a decline³ in the birth rate and the economic recession⁴.

 

不断下降的出生率以及经济衰退等日本面临的问题都被归咎于单身寄生族。

 

Some social scientists have attributed⁵ the rise in parasite singles to the Japanese preference for community, and that the increased rate has more to do with people not being in long-term relationships, choosing instead to concentrate on their work and the infamously⁶ long hours of a traditional Japanese workplace. (Source: Wikipedia)

 

有些社会学家认为单身寄生族增多是因为日本人更喜欢社区式生活，同时，人们不愿意保持一段长久的恋爱关系，而是选择将更多精力放在工作和日本广为诟病的加班方面，这也是单身寄生族增加的原因之一。

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