メタバース

Japanese Slang Japanese ★★★ 3/5 neutral メタバースmetabaasu

読み メタバース

ローマ字 metabaasu

発音 /me.ta.baː.su/

意味

Metaverse; virtual worlds for socialising and events, enthusiastically adopted in Japan through platforms like cluster and VRChat.

メタバース entered Japanese mainstream discourse around 2021–2022 as global tech companies hyped virtual worlds as the next internet. Japan developed a particularly active metaverse culture through domestic platform cluster and the globally popular VRChat, where Japanese users form large communities. While the global hype has cooled, Japan's VR social scene remains lively. The term is now used both seriously and with mild irony when referencing the overhyped promises of the metaverse era.

例文

メタバースでコンサート開催されるらしいよ、行ってみたい。
あの会社メタバースに全力投資したけど全然普及しなかったね。
クラスターでメタバースのイベント参加したことある？

使い方ガイド

場面: tech, gaming, social media, entertainment

トーン: curious, sometimes sceptical or ironic

正しい言い方

メタバースでのイベントって、意外と臨場感あって楽しいよ。 (Metaverse events are surprisingly immersive and fun.)
日本のメタバースシーンはVRChatとクラスターが中心だよね。 (VRChat and cluster are at the centre of Japan's metaverse scene.)

避ける言い方

「メタバース」と「VR」を同じ意味で使わない — VRはデバイス、メタバースは社会的な仮想空間の概念 (Don't use メタバース and VR as synonyms — VR is a device/technology, metaverse is the concept of a shared virtual social space)

よくある間違い

Treating メタバース as a single platform — it refers to the concept of virtual shared spaces, not one specific service
Using メタバース only in a negative/ironic sense — while the hype cooled, Japan's virtual communities remain genuinely active

起源と歴史

Adopted from the English term 'metaverse,' coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash and popularised globally when Facebook rebranded as Meta in 2021. In Japan, platforms like cluster (launched 2017) gave the concept early practical expression, and the global buzz of 2021–2022 brought メタバース into everyday Japanese vocabulary.

文化的背景

時代: 2021–2022 peak hype, ongoing virtual community culture

世代: Teens to 40s, especially VR enthusiasts

社会的背景: Tech-forward, relatively niche but growing

地域メモ: Japan has a particularly active VR social culture through cluster and VRChat. Corporate interest in メタバース for virtual offices and events remains higher in Japan than in many other markets.