Meaning & Usage
✨ Basic Meaning
For a while; for some time; for a short time; it’s been a long time.
🎯 Primary Function
An adverb used to express a period of time that is neither extremely short nor permanent.
📋 Grammar Structure
しばらく + [Verb / Adjective Phrase]
しばらく + [I-Adjective] (less common, usually used with state/change)
しばらく + [Na-Adjective] (less common, usually used with state/change)
しばらく + [Verb-nai form / Verb-te inai form]
🎭 Usage Contexts
Formal Situations
Common in business settings (e.g., asking customers to wait) and formal greetings.
Informal Situations
Used among friends to discuss plans or how long it’s been since they last met.
Written Language
Used in emails, news reports, and literature to describe time passage.
Spoken Language
Very frequent in daily conversations and polite announcements.
💡 Common Applications
Indicating Duration
Used to describe an ongoing action or state that will last for an unspecified but significant period.
Example: しばらく日本にいます。
Greetings
Used as a polite way to say ‘It has been a while’ when meeting someone after a long time.
Example: しばらくですね！
Polite Requests/Instructions
Commonly used in customer service to ask someone to wait ‘for a moment’.
Example: しばらくお待ちください。
Frequency
High
Difficulty
N3
Tag:
Example Sentences
Example #1
しばらくお待ちください。
Furigana: しばらくおまちください。
Romaji: Shibaraku omachi kudasai.
English: Please wait for a moment.
Example #2
しばらくですね。
Furigana: しばらくですね。
Romaji: Shibaraku desu ne.
English: Long time no see, hasn’t it been?
Example #3
彼とはしばらく会っていません。
Furigana: かれとはしばらくあっていません。
Romaji: Kare to wa shibaraku atte imasen.
English: I haven’t seen him for a while.
Example #4
しばらく日本に滞在する予定です。
Furigana: しばらくにほんにたいざいするよていです。
Romaji: Shibaraku Nihon ni taizai suru yotei desu.
English: I plan to stay in Japan for a while.
Example #5
しばらくして、雨がやみました。
Furigana: しばらくして、あめがやみました。
Romaji: Shibaraku shite, ame ga yamimashita.
English: After a while, the rain stopped.
Example #6
この薬はしばらく持っておいてください。
Furigana: このくすりはしばらくもっておいてください。
Romaji: Kono kusuri wa shibaraku motte oite kudasai.
English: Please keep this medicine for a while.
Example #7
しばらくは仕事が忙しくなりそうです。
Furigana: しばらくはしごとがいそがしくなりそうです。
Romaji: Shibaraku wa shigoto ga isogashiku nari sō desu.
English: I will be busy with work for a while.
Example #8
彼はしばらく考えてから、話し始めました。
Furigana: かれはしばらくかんがえてから、はなしはじめました。
Romaji: Kare wa shibaraku kangaete kara, hanashi hajimemashita.
English: He thought for a while and then started talking.
Example #9
しばらくはこのままにしておきましょう。
Furigana: しばらくはこのままにしておきましょう。
Romaji: Shibaraku wa kono mama ni shite okimashō.
English: Let’s leave things as they are for a while.
Example #10
こんなにおいしい料理はしばらくぶりです。
Furigana: こんなにおいしいりょうりはしばらくぶりです。
Romaji: Konna ni oishii ryōri wa shibarakuburi desu.
English: It’s been a long time since I’ve eaten such delicious food.
Notes & Nuances
📌 Important Points
Subjective Duration
The actual length of ‘shibaraku’ is subjective and depends entirely on the context.
Example: しばらく会っていません。 (Haven’t met for a while – implies weeks/months). vs しばらく待ちました。 (Waited for a while – implies minutes/hours).
⚠️ Common Mistakes
❌ 少しお待ちください。 (Sukoshi omachi kudasai) – in formal service settings.
✅ しばらくお待ちください。 (Shibaraku omachi kudasai)
‘Sukoshi’ is too casual and implies a very brief moment. ‘Shibaraku’ is the standard polite way to ask someone to wait in a professional context.
🏛️ Cultural Context
Politeness Level: Polite and versatile. It is softer than ‘chotto’ and more formal than ‘hisashiburi’ when used in greetings.
Social Situations: Essential for customer service (‘Shibaraku omachi kudasai’) and professional networking.
Regional Variations: Standard Japanese usage; widely understood across Japan.
🔍 Subtle Differences
しばらく vs ずっと (Zutto)
‘Shibaraku’ is temporary/for a while, whereas ‘Zutto’ implies ‘all the time’ or ‘forever’.
When to use: Use ‘shibaraku’ when you expect the state to change eventually.
しばらく vs 久しぶり (Hisashiburi)
‘Hisashiburi’ is more informal and focuses on the ‘long time’ aspect, while ‘Shibaraku’ is more formal.
When to use: Use ‘Shibarakuburi’ or ‘Shibaraku desu ne’ in polite/business contexts.
📝 Conjugation Notes
Usually written in Hiragana (しばらく), though the Kanji is 暫く.
🔊 Pronunciation Tips
The ‘shi’ is soft, and the ‘ra’ is a light Japanese ‘r’ (flap). Maintain even stress on all syllables.
🧠 Memory Tips
Think of ‘shibaraku’ as a ‘flexible bridge’ of time. It bridges the gap between ‘now’ and ‘later’ or ‘then’ and ‘now’.
Other Grammar
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