ぐるみ

JLPT N1approx.Neutral
Meaning
  1. 1The entire group or organization named by the noun takes part together, as a whole.Ex. 1
  2. 2Including the thing named as it is, without separating or removing it (e.g. 皮ぐるみ, 身ぐるみ).
Formation
Noun+ぐるみ
Noun+ぐるみで+Verbadverbial use
Noun+ぐるみの+Noun (attributive use)nouns usually denote a group or unit, e.g. 家族, 町, 会社, 地域, 社員
Examples
The whole staff is working together on preparations for the upcoming event.
The entire community took part in the environmental beautification campaign.
Usage

Used for collective action by a whole group, as in 家族ぐるみの付き合い or 地域ぐるみの活動. It is common in news reporting and in everyday speech alike. With organizations it often appears in negative contexts, as in 組織ぐるみの不正 (wrongdoing by the entire organization). Unlike だらけ, it does not mean 'covered with' but 'all together, as a whole'.

Watch out

Do not attach ぐるみ to verbs or adjectives; it follows nouns only.

Learners should use it with nouns for groups or whole units, not with individual people's names.

Note that 組織ぐるみ and 会社ぐるみ often suggest collective wrongdoing, so choose them carefully in positive contexts.

Easily confused with
  • だらけN3「だらけ」 indicates that something is covered or smeared with far too much of something, usually with a negative, annoyed evaluation; 「ぐるみ」 means everyone together or along with the whole, and carries no sense of disgust. Both attach only to nouns, but their meanings differ and they cannot be swapped.
  • 〜がちだN3「〜がちだ」 indicates a tendency that often occurs, mostly in negative situations, and attaches to a verb's masu-stem (verb + ます minus ます) or a noun; 「ぐるみ」 attaches only to nouns and means everyone together or the whole thing included, with no relation to tendencies, so the two cannot be interchanged.
  • にわたってN2「にわたって」 indicates a long duration or wide range, attaching to nouns of period, place, or field, and is rather formal/written; 「ぐるみ」 refers to an entire group acting together or something taken along whole, and does not attach to time words or numerals. The two cannot be interchanged.
  • を通じて / を通してN2「を通じて/を通して」 indicates going through a medium, or spanning the whole of a period or range, and can attach to time spans like 「一年」; 「ぐるみ」 means everyone together or the whole included and does not attach to time words, so the two cannot be interchanged.

だらけ means something is covered with or full of an undesirable thing, and 〜がちだ expresses a tendency; ぐるみ instead marks the whole group as involved together. にわたって and を通じて / を通して describe extent over a period, space, or medium, not the collective participation of a whole unit.

Grammar · JLPT grammar levels are community estimates, not official (no official lists have been published since the 2010 revision).

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