配信

• 読み: はいしん
• ローマ字: haishin
• 漢字の分解: 配 (distribute) + 信 (transmit/signal) → distributing a signal, i.e. broadcasting
• 発音: /ha.i.ɕi.n/

意味

A livestream or broadcast — the act of streaming content live to an online audience.

配信 originally meant distribution or delivery (of content), but in modern internet slang it almost exclusively refers to livestreaming. It is the standard word for any online broadcast, whether on YouTube, Twitch, TwitCasting, or other platforms. '配信する' means to livestream, '配信者' means streamer, and '配信中' means currently live. It is one of the most fundamental terms in Japanese streaming vocabulary and is understood by virtually all internet-savvy Japanese speakers.

例文

1. 今日22時から配信するからよかったら来てね。
2. 推しの配信が生きがいになってる。
3. 配信中にコメント拾ってもらえて嬉しかった。

使い方ガイド

場面: streaming, social media, YouTube, general conversation

トーン: neutral, everyday

正しい言い方

• 今日配信ある？ (Is there a stream today?)
• 配信アーカイブ残してくれるとありがたい。 (I appreciate it when they leave the stream archive up.)

避ける言い方

• 新聞やテレビの文脈で配信をストリーミングの意味で使う (In traditional media contexts, 配信 still means 'distribution' — be aware of the dual meaning)

よくある間違い

• Not knowing that 配信 can still mean general content distribution in formal/business contexts, not just livestreaming
• Confusing 配信 (stream/broadcast) with 放送 (hōsō, traditional TV/radio broadcast)

起源と歴史

From 配 (hai, distribute) + 信 (shin, transmit). Originally a general media distribution term, it narrowed in meaning to 'livestream' with the rise of streaming platforms in the 2010s. Now the default word for any online broadcast in Japanese.

文化的背景

時代: 2010s meaning shift to livestreaming

世代: All ages (universal internet term)

社会的背景: Universal

地域メモ: Used across Japan. One of the most basic and widely understood streaming-related terms.