ぐるみthe whole … together
The whole of a group, acting as one: the whole family, the whole town, the whole company. In practice it goes on a handful of words for a group.
He and I are friends, and so are our families.
in the news
The company as a whole is suspected of having hidden the inspection results.
How to form it
Noun + ぐるみ
A noun for a group people belong to. Then ぐるみで before a verb, or ぐるみの before a noun.
- Tone
- Warm for a family or a neighborhood. In news about a company or an organization it usually goes with wrongdoing: not one person acting alone, but the place itself.
- Where you'll meet it
- 家族ぐるみ in conversation. The others in newspapers and local newsletters.
The words you will meet
家族ぐるみthe whole family; family with family
Our families have been friends for twenty years.
町ぐるみ・地域ぐるみthe whole town, the whole community
The whole town is working together to clean up the beach.
会社ぐるみ・組織ぐるみby the company, the organization, as a whole
Internal audits are essential to prevent wrongdoing by an organization as a whole.
学校ぐるみschool-wide
A school-wide fundraising drive has begun.
家族ぐるみの付き合い is the one you will hear most. It isn't "like family": both whole families know each other and spend time together.
身ぐるみ (everything you have on you), ぬいぐるみ (a soft toy) and 着ぐるみ (a character costume) are words in their own right.
Close neighbours
中 (じゅう)N4
Everywhere in a place, or everyone in it: 町じゅう, all over town. Nobody is acting together.
The whole class was surprised by the news.
Check yourself
1What does this mean?
山田さんとは
Choose an answer to see why.
2Which one fits?
そのうわさは、
Choose an answer to see why.
More sentences
The whole community came together to set up a system for supporting its older residents.
The whole village worked together on the preparations for the festival.