1.
memorial anniversary; anniversary of a person's death observed with a Buddhist ceremony
Specific anniversaries of a death on which memorial services are held. In Japanese Buddhism, these occur at fixed intervals and are important family and religious occasions.
祖父の三回忌の年忌法要。
The third-year memorial service for my grandfather.
年忌には親族が集まってお経を上げる。
At memorial anniversaries, relatives gather and have sutras recited.
来年は母の七回忌なので、年忌法要の準備を始めた。
Since next year is my mother's seventh-year memorial, I started preparing for the memorial service.
Composed of 年 (year) + 忌 (mourning, memorial). Refers to the Buddhist tradition of holding memorial services at specific intervals after death.
MEMORIAL YEAR SCHEDULE:
The major 年忌 in Japanese Buddhism are:
- 一周忌: 1st anniversary
- 三回忌: 3rd year (actually 2 years after death — counts the year of death as year 1)
- 七回忌: 7th year
- 十三回忌: 13th year
- 三十三回忌: 33rd year (often the final service)
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 年忌法要: memorial service
- 年忌を営む: to hold a memorial service
- 年忌に当たる: to fall on a memorial year
SIMILAR WORDS:
- 法事: Buddhist memorial service — the event itself, while 年忌 refers to the anniversary
- 命日: anniversary of death — the specific date, observed annually; 年忌 refers to the special milestone anniversaries
- 法要: Buddhist ceremony — the formal religious service held at a 年忌