ぶりに

ぶりに says something happens again after a gap: "for the first time in three years". The length of the gap goes in front of it, and the action has to be one that happened before. Before a noun it becomes ぶりの.

The greeting ひさしぶり久しぶり, "long time no see", is the same ぶり after ひさし久し "a long time". しばらくぶり works the same way.

A length of time, not a date

What goes before ぶり is how long the gap lasted, not when it began.

• × 去年ぶりに会った → 一年ぶりに会った

For something that has never happened before, ぶり does not work. Use はじめて初めて.

Usage notes

These go beyond ぶりに before a verb.

Ending the sentence

With だ or です, ぶり ends the sentence, and the gap is the news.

Weather and events

The subject does not have to be a person. Rain, snow or a win can come back after a gap too.