何の言葉16 久しぶり(hisashiburi)

Hi!

For today’s letter, we are going back to basics with a very well-known greeting in Japanese which is:

久しぶり (hisashiburi)

💬 As a greeting: 久しぶり means “long time no see” — something you would say when you meet up with a friend after a year due to both of your busy schedules.

Actually, there are a few more situations where you can use this word.

Let’s take a look at how you can use this convenient word not just as a greeting!

What does 久しぶりに～ mean?

久しぶり is, as you know, the greeting “Long time no see!” or “It’s been a while!”.

Not just for meeting people, it can also be used to describe doing something “for the first time in a long time”.

Instead of saying “it’s been a while since I …”, it’s much more convenient to use this one phrase “久しぶりに～”.

Grammar-wise, there are 2 ways you can pair 久しぶり with:

1. 久しぶりに～する(for verbs)

・久しぶりに先生に会うから、緊張する！ 
(Hisashiburi ni sensei ni au kara, kinchou suru!)
I’m going to see my teacher for the first time in a long time, so I’m nervous!

・久しぶりにキャッチボールしない？
(Hisashiburi ni kyacchi booru shinai?)
How about playing catch? It’s been a while since we did that.

・今日、久しぶりにコーヒーを飲んだ。 
(Kyou, hisashiburi ni koohii wo nonda.)
I had coffee today for the first time in a long time.

2. 久しぶりの～だ(for nouns)

For example:

・久しぶりの温泉は最高だった。
(Hisashiburi no onsen wa saikou datta.)
(Going to) the onsen for the first time in a long time was amazing.

・久しぶりの休みだ！どこ行く？何する？
（Hisashiburi no yasumi da! Doko iku? Nani suru?）
 It’s been a while since we had a holiday! Where should we go? What should we do?

・久しぶりのロンドンは、かなり変わってた。
(Hisashiburi no rondon wa, sugoku kawatteta.)
(Seeing) London for the first time in ages — it has changed a lot.

Should we use 久しぶり in kanji?

Yes, we usually use Kanji, but in casual messages, we also use all hiragana version “ひさしぶり”.

Similar English phrases:

“it’s been a long time since ~”
“it’s been a while since ~”

💡 Specifying how long its been with ~buri

ぶり(buri) means “after (a certain period)”.

So, you can put any time/period/term before ぶり like this:

・3日ぶり(mikka buri) = for the first time in 3 days.

・5年ぶり(gonen buri) =for the first time in 5 years.

１．昨日、高校の友だちと久しぶりに会った。
　　(Kinou, koukou no tomodachi to hisashiburi ni atta.)
　　Yesterday, I saw my friend from high school for the first time in ages.

２．久しぶりに運動したから、体中が痛い・・・
　　(Hisashiburi ni undou shita kara, karadajuu ga itai...)
　　I haven’t exercised for a long time, so my whole body hurts…

３．こんなに楽しかったのは、久しぶり！
　　(Konna ni tanoshikatta no wa, hisashiburi!)
 It’s been a while since I had this much fun!

４．久しぶりに、あのお店に行ってみない？
　　(Hisashiburi ni, ano omise ni itte minai?)
　　Why don’t we visit that shop that we haven’t been for a while?

５．久しぶりのカレーは、すごくおいしかった。
　　 (Hisashiburi no karee wa, sugoku oishikatta.)
　　The curry I had for the first time in a long time was really delicious.

Similar Japanese phrases:

久々(hisabisa)