婚活

• Reading: こんかつ
• Romaji: konkatsu
• Kanji breakdown: 婚 (marriage) + 活 (activity) → marriage activity/hunting
• Pronunciation: /koɴ.ka.tsɯ/

Meaning

Marriage hunting — the active pursuit of finding a marriage partner through organized activities like matchmaking services, parties, and dating apps.

Modeled after 就活 (job hunting), 婚活 treats finding a spouse with the same seriousness and strategy as a job search. This includes registering with marriage agencies, attending 婚活パーティー, polishing one's profile, and going on structured dates. The term was popularized by sociologist Yamada Masahiro in 2007 and reflects the growing difficulty of finding marriage partners in Japan's aging society.

Examples

1. 30歳になったし、そろそろ婚活始めようかな。 I just turned 30, so maybe it's time to start marriage hunting.
2. 婚活パーティーに行ったけど、ピンとくる人いなかった。 I went to a marriage-hunting party, but nobody really clicked.
3. 姉が婚活アプリ3つ同時に使ってて本気すぎる。 My sister is using three marriage-hunting apps at the same time — she's dead serious.

Usage Guide

Context: friends, family, media, casual conversation

Tone: matter-of-fact, sometimes self-deprecating

Do Say

• 婚活してるって言ったら友達がアプリ紹介してくれた。 (When I said I was marriage hunting, my friend recommended an app.)
• 婚活疲れたけど、諦めたくない。 (I'm tired of marriage hunting but I don't want to give up.)

Don't Say

• 独身の人に「婚活しないの？」は余計なお世話 (Asking a single person 'aren't you marriage hunting?' is intrusive and presumptuous)

Common Mistakes

• Using 婚活 when someone is just casually dating — 婚活 implies a deliberate, goal-oriented search for a marriage partner

Origin & History

Coined by sociologist Yamada Masahiro (山田昌弘) in 2007, modeled on 就活 (shūkatsu, job hunting). The term gained massive media attention and became a cultural phenomenon reflecting Japan's declining marriage rate.

Cultural Context

Era: 2007 coinage, mainstream by late 2000s

Generation: Primarily late 20s-40s

Social background: Universal, used across all social classes

Regional notes: Used nationwide. A major cultural concept in modern Japan reflecting societal concerns about declining marriage and birth rates.