まんざら

ま

ん

ざ

ら

Common wordJLPTN1Freq.FrequencyTop 50,000

Meanings

1

adverb

not altogether; not entirely; not completely

usually written using kana alone

Used in negative contexts to mean 'not completely' or 'not necessarily'. Often followed by ～でもない, ～悪くない, or similar negative expressions to soften a statement.

彼かれの提てい案あんはまんざら悪わるくないと思おも

う

。

I think his proposal isn't altogether bad.

まんざら嘘うそでもない話はなしだ。

It's a story that's not entirely a lie.

Usage patterns

まんざら〈形けい容よう詞し〉くないnot entirely [adjective] (softening a negative judgment)
彼かれのアイデアもまんざら悪わるくない。
His idea isn't entirely bad, actually.
まんざら〈事こと〉ではないようだit doesn't seem to be entirely [something] (hedged assessment)
彼かの女じょもまんざら興きょう味みがないわけではないようだ。
It seems she isn't entirely uninterested either.

Expressions

まんざらでもないnot all bad; fairly pleasing; not as bad as one might think

Kanji

満full, fullness, enough
更grow late, night watch, sit up late
万ten thousand, 10,000

Related words

必かならずしもN3
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N1
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.
全まったくN3
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Usage78%
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Usage22%
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.