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.

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.

Kanji

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

Similar words

必かならずしも
必ずしも is used with ～ない to mean 'not necessarily', while まんざら is more colloquial and often used with ～でもない to mean 'not altogether' or 'not completely'.
全まったく
全く with a negative means 'not at all', whereas まんざら with a negative means 'not entirely', leaving room for partial agreement.

Etymology

The origin is uncertain. The kanji 満更 and 万更 are ateji (phonetic equivalents) and do not reflect the word's derivation.