Abstract
Following the January/February 2026 issue, this article presents findings from the 2025 Nationwide Survey on Changes in the Japanese Language.
[New usages of “-buri” (since…)]
- Regarding “itsu-buri” (a new expression for “itsu-irai,” meaning “how long it has been since”), nearly 80% of respondents in their 20s reported “I use it myself and do not find it unnatural,” and, even among those in their 30s to 50s, more than half answered the same, indicating that this expression is becoming established as a new usage.
- By contrast, “sotsugyōshiki-buri” (since the graduation ceremony) has yet to take root to the same extent as “itsu-buri.”
[Usages and nuances of “-buri”]
- As for usages of “-buri” that do not denote repetition—such as “X-nen-buri ni kansei” (completed for the first time in X years)—approximately half of the respondents answered that it sounds “unnatural.” In particular, a tendency to feel uncomfortable with this usage was observed among respondents in their 30s to 50s.
- More than half of the respondents found “unnatural” about the use of “-buri” for clearly undesirable events.
[Sense of expectation regarding “kanousei” (possibility), “takai suijun” (high level), and “tassuru” (to achieve)]
- Regarding the usage of the above terms in reference to negative events, 26%* of respondents found the use of “kanousei” to be “unnatural,” while 36%* said the same about “takai suijun,” indicating that approximately one in three to four respondents felt some degree of discomfort.
- As for the use of “tassuru” (to achieve) in negative contexts, nearly half of the respondents (47%*) found it “unnatural.”
- For “kanousei,” a tendency to feel resistance towards its use in connection with negative matters was observed as age increased.
* These figures include respondents who found the usage unnatural in both positive and negative example sentences.
[Pronunciation of 1,000]
- For the readings of “21,000 en/ko” (21,000 yen/items), “21,500 en/ko,” and “1,000 man/oku” (10 million/100 billion), the largest proportion of respondents overall preferred “issen” over “sen,” with this tendency increasing with age. In the case of “1,000 man,” all age groups showed a strong preference for “issen.”
[Writing of foreign names]
When asked about how to write foreign personal names (first and last names), more than 70% of respondents overall found names separated by a middle dot (・) easier to read.
