Which should I use?

6 comments

1. 背広 is a business suit.

2. It’s a bit like asking if you should talk like a radio announcer in the 40s (obviously I’m being hyperbolic). Speech patterns change over time in all languages. It’s good to be familiar with both, but you’d want to use the term the demographic you’re interacting with.

3. I’d say スーツ is totally fine.

   I don’t use 背広 all that much. In fact, I can’t remember the last time I used that word. I totally understand it, and I have never thought it as “old” Japanese, but in case it’s not, perhaps it’ll be old people’s vocab sooner or later anyways.

   If anyone said the word背広 then I’ll most likely just stick with that throughout the conversation.

4. not all suits (スーツ) are business suits (背広) the differentiation that in past people used to wear suits more often, and there are things like lounge suits, sport suits, now people think that suits are the epithome of formaility in the man’s clothing and mix up them.

   I’m a vintage clothing daily wear, I sually wear lounge suits, not business suits when I’m not working, you get my point?

5. スーツcan be both woman’s or man’s. 背広is almost always menswear.

6. Saki’s Japanese lessons! I believe this is the video you’re talking about https://www.instagram.com/p/CkswqXLgE4r/