曼
wide, beautiful
Readings
On'yomi
- マン
- バン
Kun'yomi
- なが.い
Meaning
曼 centers on something stretched out or extended, giving the sense of wide or long. The beautiful meaning likely comes from the idea of something gracefully elongated or drawn out.
Most common words using 曼
- 曼荼羅まんだら
mandala
- 四曼しまん
four types of mandala (in Shingon)
- 曼珠沙華まんじゅしゃげ
red spider lily (Lycoris radiata); cluster amaryllis; cluster belladonna; manjusaka
- 三昧耶曼荼羅さんまやまんだら
samya mandala (in Shingon); mandala where each deity is represented by an object (lotus flower, gem, sword, etc.)
- 両界曼荼羅りょうかいまんだら
Mandala of the Two Realms; Womb Realm and Matrix Realm Mandalas
- 両部曼荼羅りょうぶまんだら
Mandala of the Two Realms; Womb Realm and Matrix Realm Mandalas
- 四種曼荼羅ししゅまんだら
four types of mandala (in Shingon)
- 大曼荼羅だいまんだら
great mandala (in Shingon); mandala with an image of each deity
- 沙羅曼蛇サラマンダ
Salamander (video game)
- 法曼荼羅ほうまんだら
dharma mandala (in Shingon); mandala were each deity is represented by its seed syllable in Sanskrit
- 羯磨曼荼羅かつままんだら
karma mandala (in Shingon); three-dimensional mandala with a sculpture of each deity
- 胎蔵曼荼羅たいぞうまんだら
Garbhadhatu Mandala; Womb Realm Mandala; Matrix Realm Mandala
- 胎蔵界曼荼羅たいぞうかいまんだら
Garbhadhatu Mandala; Womb Realm Mandala; Matrix Realm Mandala
- 金剛界曼荼羅こんごうかいまんだら
Vajradhatu Mandala; Diamond Realm Mandala
Study
Etymology
曼 is thought to combine 冒 (covering) and 又 (hand), suggesting a hand drawing something out or extending a cover, leading to the idea of length or width. The exact historical development is uncertain.
Meaning mnemonic
The top part looks like a wide eye (罒) under the sun (日), and the bottom is a hand (又). Imagine a hand stretching a wide canvas under the sun to create a beautiful, expansive scene.
Reading mnemonic
For マン, picture a wide, beautiful manga (漫画) page spread out: manga -> マン, and the wide layout matches the kanji's meaning.