ご祝儀貧乏

• 読み: ごしゅうぎびんぼう
• ローマ字: goshūgi binbō
• 漢字の分解: ご祝儀 (celebratory gift money) + 貧乏 (poor; 貧 = poor + 乏 = lacking) → impoverished by wedding gifts
• 発音: /ɡo.ɕuː.ɡi.biɴ.boː/

意味

Being broke from giving too many wedding gifts — the financial strain of attending multiple weddings in a short period.

ご祝儀貧乏 is a widely relatable complaint among Japanese adults in their late 20s and 30s, when friends and colleagues are getting married in waves. With the standard ご祝儀 at ¥30,000 per wedding, attending 3-4 weddings in a season can easily cost over ¥100,000 — a serious hit to anyone's budget. Adding in outfit costs, travel, and 二次会 (after-party) fees makes it even worse. The term is used with wry humor on social media.

例文

1. 今月3件も結婚式あってご祝儀貧乏がやばい。
2. 20代後半からご祝儀貧乏になるって聞いてたけど、まさにその通りだった。
3. ご祝儀貧乏すぎて自分の結婚式の費用が貯まらないっていう皮肉。

使い方ガイド

場面: friends, social media, daily conversation

トーン: humorous, self-deprecating

正しい言い方

• 秋のご祝儀貧乏が怖すぎる。 (I'm terrified of autumn wedding gift bankruptcy.)
• ご祝儀貧乏で今月外食できない。 (I'm so broke from wedding gifts I can't eat out this month.)

避ける言い方

• 結婚する友達の前で「ご祝儀貧乏になる」と嘆くのは避ける (Avoid complaining about ご祝儀貧乏 in front of friends who are getting married — it makes them feel guilty)

よくある間違い

• Using ご祝儀貧乏 too seriously — it's meant to be a light, humorous complaint. Using it in a genuinely angry or resentful tone changes the nuance

起源と歴史

Compound of ご祝儀 (wedding gift money) + 貧乏 (poor/poverty). A humorous self-deprecating term that emerged naturally as young adults faced the financial reality of Japan's concentrated wedding seasons.

文化的背景

時代: 2000s onward, peak complaints during wedding seasons

世代: Late 20s to 30s primarily

社会的背景: Universal among adults attending multiple weddings

地域メモ: Used across all of Japan. Wedding season peaks are June (ジューンブライド) and autumn. Some people deliberately stagger wedding attendance to manage costs.