界隈［乙～スラ（２７）］

Fuga · January 1, 2025, 12:17am

Happy New Years Everyone!

Bunproユーザーの皆様、明けましておめでとうございます！今年もよろしくお願いします！

堅苦しい挨拶はここまでにしておこう！

今年も張り切ってネトスラについてドンドン書いていくから、楽しみにしててくれ！

さて、早速今年初のネトスラを紹介するゾー！

今年一発目のネットスラングは「界隈」！

界隈（かいわい）

Any ideas on what this one means?

If you have been on the Japanese side of the internet throughout 2024, you have probably heard and encountered this word quite frequently.

Origin

This word was originally used during the Meiji era and according to a dictionary from that era, it was used with a meaning similar to 近辺（きんぺん） which means ‘nearby’. Although this word was commonly used in that era, it was considered a colloquial term for 近辺.

For example, if someone said 「浅草界隈」back then, this would just mean ‘around Asakusa’ or ‘near Asakusa’. Although it was used as a geographical term back in the days, when it reached the internet decades later, the nuance of the word changed a little bit. Now, it is used with the meaning of ‘A community of people with common interests and values’. Although it may seem like the meaning has changed greatly, the nuance still remains in the sense that it is used to describe people in your ‘circle’.

Since the use of this word exploded, in 2024 小学館 added a new definition of 界隈 to 大辞泉. Now it is, officially, not only a geographical term anymore.

So how is this word used?

Like many other slang that become popular, this takes the 〇〇SLANG format. When this slang takes this format, 界隈 can be translated as ‘〇〇 community’, and the 〇〇 part can be replaced with any hobbies, niche, place, name, you name it.

Lets take a look at some popular 界隈!

オタク界隈

This just simply refers to the オタク community. This is usually used to talk about any kind of fan bases ion general.

自撮り界隈

This refers to people that like taking and posting selfies.

トー横界隈・グリ下界隈・ドン横界隈

These became and is still a big social issue in Japan, but these refer to small ‘communities’ found in major cities. These ‘communities’ are made up of young kids that have run away from home, or kids that just want to belong somewhere. These communities are a big social issue in Japan right nowe due to drug usage and many other shady activities that go on.
トー横界隈 refers to the community in 歌舞伎町, 東京 next to a building called 新宿東宝ビル, hence the name トー横.
グリ下界隈 refers to the community in 道頓堀, 大阪 under the bridge under the グリコ sign, hence the name グリ下.
ドン横界隈 refered to the community in 栄, 名古屋 that gathered across the street from a ドンキホーテ. This one does not exist anymore since they are currently constructing a building where they used to gather.

自然界隈

This refers to the nature loving community. However, this doesn’t only include people that like to go camping and hiking, this also includes people that like to go to botanical gardens and flower gardens.

And the most popular 界隈 of 2024…

風呂キャンセル界隈！

Any idea what kind of community this is?

As the name suggests this refers to groups of people that have ‘canceled’ bathing. This 界隈 is usually seen in the younger generation, and the reason they stop bathing varies depending on people. Some of the main reasons include depression and mental illness, but there are many younger people that only take a shower once in a while or when they have to go out since they think that it is a waste of time. There are people that flat out thinks that taking a shower is too much work.

Since 界隈 just got big in 2024, this is probably one of those slang that you will be hearing for a while!

今年一発目の投稿読んでくれてありがとう！

みなさん、どうぞ良いお年を！

Fuga

If you missed the previous posts, you can check them out here!

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