The way one does, for the first time in: 〜ぶり
N / Verb (stem) + ぶり（っぷり） ; duration + ぶり（に + Verb／の + N／だ）
Noun or stem + ぶり: the way of doing something, judged (仕事ぶり, 食べっぷり). Duration + ぶり: “for the first time in” (五年ぶりに, 久しぶり).
In short
〜ぶり has two uses. After a noun or a verb stem, it refers to the way someone does something, often with a judgement: 仕事ぶり (the way they work), 話しぶり (the way they talk), 暮らしぶり (their lifestyle); in speech, 食べっぷり, 飲みっぷり (eating, drinking with gusto). After a duration, it means “for the first time in”: 五年ぶりに会った, and of course 久しぶり.
- 五年ぶりに高校の友だちに会った。ごねんぶりにこうこうのともだちにあった。I saw a high-school friend for the first time in five years.
- 田中さんの真面目な仕事ぶりは、社内でも評判だ。たなかさんのまじめなしごとぶりは、しゃないでもひょうばんだ。Tanaka's conscientious way of working is well known throughout the company.
- 名古屋で雪が積もったのは、十年ぶりのことだ。なごやでゆきがつもったのは、じゅうねんぶりのことだ。It's the first time in ten years that snow has settled in Nagoya.
The basics
ぶり (振り) evokes bearing, “style”. Hence its two uses: the way of doing something (仕事ぶり), and, after a duration, the time it took for something to happen again (五年ぶり, “after five years”).
Either way, ぶり carries a point of view: you admire or criticise a way of doing things, or you stress that you had to wait a long time.
I saw a high-school friend for the first time in five years.
- noun
- grammatical form
- verb
- 久しぶりに家族そろって夕食を食べた。ひさしぶりにかぞくそろってゆうしょくをたべた。For the first time in ages, the whole family had dinner together.
- 彼女の働きぶりには、いつも感心させられる。かのじょのはたらきぶりには、いつもかんしんさせられる。The way she works always impresses me.
Manner: 〜ぶり, 〜っぷり
With an activity noun or a verb stem: 仕事ぶり, 勉強ぶり, 暮らしぶり, 話しぶり, 働きぶり. There's almost always a judgement: 見事な仕事ぶり, だらしない生活ぶり. With 食べる, 飲む, and a few words like 男, the spoken form っぷり expresses an admirable gusto: いい飲みっぷりだね.
It differs from 〜方 (かた), which describes a neutral method: 話し方 is the technique of speaking, 話しぶり the impression someone's way of speaking gives.
- 部長の話しぶりから、計画は中止になりそうだとわかった。ぶちょうのはなしぶりから、けいかくはちゅうしになりそうだとわかった。From the way the director was talking, I realised the project would probably be cancelled.
- 相撲の力士たちの食べっぷりはすごい。すもうのりきしたちのたべっぷりはすごい。The appetite of sumo wrestlers is incredible.
After so long: duration + ぶり
A duration + ぶり says something happens again after a long absence: ぶりに before a verb, ぶりの before a noun, ぶりだ at the end of a sentence. The duration has to seem long for the situation: 三日ぶりの晴れ (after three days of rain) works, but ×二分ぶり makes no sense.
You can also put an event in place of the duration: 優勝は十年ぶりだ (the first win in ten years).
| Form | Example | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 〜ぶりに + verb | 三年ぶりに帰国した | come home for the first time in three years |
| 〜ぶりの + noun | 十年ぶりの優勝 | the first win in ten years |
| 〜ぶりだ | 会うのは五年ぶりだ | it's been five years since we last met |
| 久しぶり | お久しぶりです | it's been a long time |
- 地元のチームが三十年ぶりに優勝した。じもとのちーむがさんじゅうねんぶりにゆうしょうした。The local team won the championship for the first time in thirty years.
ぶり, 後, ふり
五年後に (ごねんごに) places a moment: “five years later” or “in five years”. 五年ぶりに stresses the wait: “at last, after five years without”. And ふり (N3), without the dakuten (the two little strokes), means “to pretend”: 知らないふりをする.
| Form | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜ぶり | manner; after a long absence | 五年ぶりに会う |
| 〜後 | later, a simple point in time | 五年後に会う |
| 〜ふり | pretend | 寝たふりをする |
| 〜方 | neutral method | 作り方 |
- 五年後にまたここで会おう。ごねんごにまたここであおう。Let's meet here again in five years.
- 弟は寝たふりをして、話を聞いていた。おとうとはねたふりをして、はなしをきいていた。My little brother was pretending to be asleep and listening to the conversation.
Common mistakes
- Mixing up ぶり and ふり: 寝たぶり doesn't exist; it's 寝たふり (pretend to be asleep).
- Translating 五年ぶりに as “five years ago”: it's “for the first time in five years”.
- Using it for a short duration: ×十分ぶりにトイレに行った.
- Taking 話しぶり for a plain 話し方: ぶり adds an impression, often a judgement.
8 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N2 point is on the Kamiiida Line (Health and the body) of the Nagoya lines.