1.
year-end party
A party held at the end of the year, typically in December, where coworkers, friends, or club members gather to celebrate and forget the troubles of the past year. Literally 'forget the year gathering.' A deeply ingrained custom in Japanese workplace and social culture.
忘年会に参加する。
I'll attend the year-end party.
会社の忘年会は金曜日に開かれる。
The company year-end party will be held on Friday.
今年の忘年会は駅前の居酒屋で行うことになった。
This year's year-end party will be held at the izakaya in front of the station.
USAGE:
忘年会 season runs from late November through December. Workplaces, clubs, and friend groups each hold their own parties, so people may attend several during the season. The word literally means 'forget-year-gathering' (忘 forget + 年 year + 会 gathering).
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 忘年会を開く (hold a year-end party)
- 忘年会に参加する (attend a year-end party)
- 忘年会の幹事 (organizer of the year-end party)
- 忘年会シーズン (year-end party season)
RELATED TERMS:
- 新年会 is the New Year counterpart, held in January to celebrate the beginning of the year.
- 歓送迎会 is a welcome/farewell party for colleagues.