particle N2 common casualpolitewritten
〜ぶり — after an interval of ~ (三年ぶり 'first time in 3 years')
〜ぶり ・ ぶり
Meaning
① after an interval of: after an interval of ~ / the first in ~ — marks how long a gap has passed since the last time (as a noun/adnominal)
② manner / way of doing: the way someone ~s / one's manner of ~ / the look of ~ — describes the style or appearance of an action or thing
Key sentence
① after an interval of
彼と会うのは三年ぶりだ。
It's the first time in three years that I'm meeting him.
② manner / way of doing
彼の仕事ぶりは見事だ。
His way of working is superb.
Formation
| Attaches to | Form | Example |
|---|---|---|
| ①Time-span noun ②Verb (ます-stem) or action noun | ①[period] + ぶり ②V-stem/N + ぶり | 五年ぶり / 働きぶり |
Examples
① after an interval of
これは十年ぶりの大雪だ。
This is the heaviest snow in ten years.
久しぶりですね。
It's been a long time, hasn't it.
② manner / way of doing
落ち着いた話しぶりが印象的だった。
His calm manner of speaking made an impression.
見事な枝ぶりの松だ。
It's a pine with a magnificent spread of branches.
Easily confused with
Notes
- The two senses share the suffix ぶり but attach to different things — a time span ('interval') vs. an action/verb stem ('manner'). 久しぶり is the fixed interval instance; 仕事ぶり・話しぶり are common manner instances.
See 〜ぶり in real sentences
Jengo shows 〜ぶり the way you actually meet it: inside real Japanese sentences, so it sticks instead of staying an abstract rule.
Study it in JengoSources Compiled with reference to A Dictionary of Intermediate Japanese Grammar.