ブクマ

• Reading: ブクマ
• Romaji: bukuma
• Pronunciation: /bu.ku.ma/

Meaning

Bookmark — saving a webpage or post for later. Abbreviated from ブックマーク.

Shortened from ブックマーク (bookmark), ブクマ is casual internet vocabulary for saving links or content for later viewing. In Japan, はてなブックマーク (Hatena Bookmark) — a major social bookmarking service — made ブクマ especially prominent. It can refer to browser bookmarks, social media saves, or bookmarking features on any platform.

Examples

1. この記事あとで読みたいからブクマしとこ。 I want to read this article later so let me bookmark it.
2. ブクマしたのに見返さないの自分あるある。 Bookmarking stuff and then never looking at it again — that's so me.
3. はてブのブクマ数すごいことになってる記事見つけた。 I found an article with a crazy number of Hatena bookmarks.

Usage Guide

Context: internet, social media, work

Tone: casual, practical

Do Say

• このページブクマしといて。 (Bookmark this page.)
• ブクマ整理したら古いリンクばっかりだった。 (I organised my bookmarks and they were all old links.)

Don't Say

• ビジネスメールでは「ブクマ」でなく「ブックマーク」とフルで書く (Use the full ブックマーク in business emails, not the abbreviation)

Common Mistakes

• Not knowing that ブクマ can also refer to はてなブックマーク specifically, depending on context

Origin & History

Abbreviation of ブックマーク (bookmark, from English). Became especially common in Japan through はてなブックマーク (Hatena Bookmark), Japan's largest social bookmarking service, launched in 2005.

Cultural Context

Era: Mid-2000s, with はてなブックマーク

Generation: Teens to 40s

Social background: Internet users

Regional notes: Used across all of Japan. はてなブックマーク gave the abbreviation ブクマ special prominence in Japanese internet culture.