The present study examined the relationship between concern about privacy and apprehension of the word “privacy.” A web-based survey was conducted with 221 Internet users about how the respondents considered the word “privacy” using an open-ended question. The results indicated that respondents mainly considered the word “privacy” as referring to “personal information” or “secret”. A chi-squared test showed that the proportion of respondents who considered privacy as a “personal boundary” was greater among those who were more concerned about privacy. Moreover, the proportion of respondents who considered privacy as “secret” was greater among those who were less concerned about privacy.