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フェスティバル (fesutibaru) Japanese meaning: festival | Kotomora
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I'm planning to go to a jazz festival this weekend.
Directors from overseas will also come to this year's film festival.
Usage patterns 〈 場ば 所しょ 〉 でフェスティバルを 開かい 催さい する to hold a festival at a place
Next month, they will hold a music festival in the park.
フェスティバルに 参さん 加か する to take part in a festival
I took part in a film festival together with my friend.
フェスティバルが 開ひら かれる for a festival to be held
A big fireworks festival is held every summer.
フェスティバルを 楽たの しむ to enjoy a festival
The whole family enjoyed the food festival.
Related words 祭り is the native Japanese word for a traditional, local, or religious festival, while フェスティバル refers to a modern, organized event such as a music or film festival.
フェス is a casual clipped form used mainly for music and outdoor events, while フェスティバル is the fuller, more formal-sounding word.
イベント is a general word for any organized event, while フェスティバル specifically implies a large, often themed cultural or artistic gathering.
フェスティバル is a modern loanword used for secular or Western-style events (music festivals, film festivals), while お祭り usually implies a traditional Japanese community or shrine festival.
フェスティバル is a broad loanword for any organized festival or event, whereas カーニバル implies the specific tradition of costumed parades and revelry like Rio's carnival.
Word family outdoor music festival
music festival
jazz festival
snow festival
Written forms フェスティバル Usage 95%
Standard katakana spelling; this is the prioritized form.
フェスティヴァル Usage 5%
Less common katakana spelling using ヴァ to reflect the foreign /va/ sound more explicitly.
Etymology Katakana form corresponding to English “festival”; no borrowing language is specified, so the precise loan history is not asserted here.
ロックフェスティバル
sports festival; sports day; field day