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Kotomora

漫

cartoon, involuntarily, unrestrained, in spite of oneself, corrupt

JLPTN1StatusJōyō · secondary schoolFrequencyTop 2,000Strokes14

Readings

On'yomi

  • マン

Kun'yomi

  • みだり.に
  • そぞ.ろ

Meaning

漫 centers on a lack of restraint or control: things that happen involuntarily, spread without limit, or become loose and corrupt. The cartoon sense is a natural extension of this free, unrestrained expression.

Most common words using 漫

20 of 60
  • 漫画まんが
    N5

    cartoon; comic; comic strip; manga

  • 浪漫ロマン
    N2

    romance (e.g. Arthurian romances); heroic tale

  • 漫才まんざい
    N1

    manzai; comic dialogue; two-person comedy act, usu. presented as a fast-paced dialogue, occ. presented as a skit

  • 天真爛漫てんしんらんまん

    innocent; naive; artless; unaffected; genuine; childlike

  • 散漫さんまん

    vague; desultory; distracted; loose; half-hearted; diffuse; scattered

  • 爛漫らんまん

    in full bloom; in full glory; glorious; luxuriant; splendid

  • 漫喫まんきつ

    manga cafe; coffee shop with a manga library (usu. has Internet facilities and charges by the hour)

  • 漫談まんだん

    chat; desultory conversation

  • 放漫ほうまん

    whimsy; looseness; indiscretion; laxity

  • 漫遊まんゆう

    pleasure trip; tour

  • 瀰漫びまん

    spread; pervasion; permeation

  • 漫研まんけん

    society for the study of manga

  • 漫ろそぞろ

    restless; on edge (and unable to concentrate); distracted

  • 漫罵まんば

    revilement; derision

  • 漫画家まんがか

    cartoonist; comic book artist; manga artist; manga author; mangaka

  • 漫然まんぜん
    N1

    aimless; rambling; desultory; casual

  • 4コマ漫画よんこままんが

    four-panel comic strip; yonkoma

  • しゃべくり漫才しゃべくりまんざい

    manzai based on comic dialogue (as opposed to a skit)

  • ウェブ漫画ウェブまんが

    webcomic; web manga

  • エロ漫画エロまんが

    erotic manga; pornographic manga

Explore all words using 漫 →

Study

Etymology

漫 combines 氵 (water) with 曼, which likely contributes the sound and the idea of spreading or extending. The overall sense of water overflowing or spreading without restraint fits the core meaning.

Meaning mnemonic

Water 氵 spreading out without control, like a flood covering everything, captures the idea of unrestrained, involuntary action. Cartoons are free, unrestrained drawings that flow from the imagination.

Reading mnemonic

For マン, imagine a man drawing a cartoon with wild, unrestrained strokes: man -> マン, and his hand moves involuntarily across the page.