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まんざら (manzara) Japanese meaning: not altogether | Kotomora
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I think his proposal isn't altogether bad.
It's a story that's not entirely a lie.
Expressions まんざらでもない not all bad; fairly pleasing; not as bad as one might think Kanji 更 grow late, night watch, sit up late Related words 必ずしも pairs with a negative verb to mean 'not necessarily', while まんざら pairs with でもない/悪くない to soften a statement as 'not entirely'.
あながち is a slightly more formal/literary word used with a negative to mean 'not necessarily', overlapping with まんざら but less colloquial.
全く with a negative means 'not at all', a stronger denial than まんざら, which leaves room for partial truth.
Written forms まんざら Usage 78%
Usually written in kana. The kanji forms 満更 and 万更 are ateji and irregular, respectively, and rarely used.
満まん 更ざら Usage 22%
ateji (phonetic kanji usage)
Ateji spelling; high priority but modern usage is almost entirely kana.
万まん 更ざら
irregular kanji usage
Irregular kanji usage; not recommended for learners.
Etymology The origin is uncertain. The kanji 満更 and 万更 are ateji (phonetic equivalents) and do not reflect the word's derivation.
