for the first time in ... years; after ... years
Attaches to a number or duration expression (e.g., 3年ぶり, 10年ぶり) to indicate that something happens after that many years have passed since the last occurrence. Often used with に or の.
He returned to his hometown for the first time in three years.
The heaviest snow in ten years disrupted traffic.
Standard spelling; ぶり is usually written in kana.
Alternate kanji spelling using 振り; less common but still seen.
Formed from 年 and the suffix ぶり, which marks the length of an interval since an event last occurred.