hisashiburi ni tomodachi to attara, sannenburi ni issho ni eigakan e ikou to iwareta.

When I met my friend for the first time in a while, she said we should go to the movie theater together for the first time in three years.

Breakdown of hisashiburi ni tomodachi to attara, sannenburi ni issho ni eigakan e ikou to iwareta.

• 行いく: to go
• 友とも達だち: friend
• と: companion particle

Questions & Answers about hisashiburi ni tomodachi to attara, sannenburi ni issho ni eigakan e ikou to iwareta.

What does 久しぶりに mean here?

久しぶりに means after a long time or for the first time in a long time.

In this sentence, it modifies 会った and means that the speaker met the friend again after not seeing them for quite a while.

• 久しぶり = a long time / long time no see
• に makes it work adverbially, so it can modify a verb

So:

• 久しぶりに会う = to meet after a long time

Also, 久しぶり can be used by itself as a greeting, like Long time no see.

How is 三年ぶりに different from 久しぶりに?

They are similar in structure, but different in specificity.

• 久しぶりに = after a long time (vague)
• 三年ぶりに = for the first time in three years (specific)

So this sentence uses two different time-gap expressions:

• 久しぶりに友達と会ったら = when I met my friend after a long time
• 三年ぶりに一緒に映画館へ行こう = let’s go to the movie theater together for the first time in three years

The two expressions are not redundant, because they refer to different actions.

What does the pattern Xぶりに mean?