お歳せい暮ぼ

お

せ

い

ぼ

Meanings

1

year-end gift

A customary gift given in December to express gratitude, typically to superiors, clients, or relatives. Compare with お中元 (mid-year gift).

〈人ひと〉にお歳せい暮ぼを贈おくるto send a year-end gift to someone
毎まい年とし、上じょう司しにお歳せい暮ぼを贈おくっています。
Every year I send a year-end gift to my boss.
〈人ひと〉からお歳せい暮ぼをいただくto receive a year-end gift from someone
取とり引ひき先さきからお歳せい暮ぼをいただいた。
I received a year-end gift from a business partner.
お歳せい暮ぼの品しなthe item chosen as a year-end gift
今年ことしのお歳せい暮ぼの品しなは何なににしようか迷まよっている。
I'm trying to decide what to give as this year's year-end gift.
お歳せい暮ぼの季き節せつthe year-end gift-giving season
もうお歳せい暮ぼの季き節せつですね。
It's already the season for year-end gifts.

お中ちゅう元げんN1sense 1
お歳暮 is the December year-end gift, while お中元 is the equivalent gift given in July for the mid-year greeting.
年ねん末まつN1sense 2
年末 is the everyday word for 'year-end' as a time period, while お歳暮 in this sense is a rare, old-fashioned way to say the same thing.

歳せい暮ぼplain
歳暮 is the plain noun for a year-end gift, while お歳暮 adds the polite prefix お and is the form normally used in speech and writing.

お年とし玉だまN3
お年玉 is money given to children at New Year, while お歳暮 is a year-end gift (usually not cash) exchanged between adults as a token of gratitude.

個こN5
Used for counting お歳暮 (year-end gifts) as individual items, the natural general way to count them as gifts.

Polite prefix お + 歳暮 (せいぼ), literally 'year-end'. The gift sense developed from the custom of giving presents at the close of the year.