万ばん歳ざい

ば

ん

ざ

い

Common wordJLPTN2Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

万歳する · noun or participle which takes 'suru'

Form	Positive	Negative
Dictionary	万ばん歳ざいする	万ばん歳ざいしない
Polite	万ばん歳ざいします	万ばん歳ざいしません
Past polite	万ばん歳ざいしました	万ばん歳ざいしませんでした
Past	万ばん歳ざいした	万ばん歳ざいしなかった
Te-form	万ばん歳ざいして	万ばん歳ざいしないで
Desire	万ばん歳ざいしたい	万ばん歳ざいしたくない
Potential	万ばん歳ざいできる	万ばん歳ざいできない
Passive	万ばん歳ざいされる	万ばん歳ざいされない
Causative	万ばん歳ざいさせる	万ばん歳ざいさせない
Causative passive	万ばん歳ざいさせられる	万ばん歳ざいさせられない
Volitional	万ばん歳ざいしよう
Polite volitional	万ばん歳ざいしましょう
Imperative	万ばん歳ざいしろ	万ばん歳ざいするな
Conditional	万ばん歳ざいすれば	万ばん歳ざいしなければ
Tara conditional	万ばん歳ざいしたら	万ばん歳ざいしなかったら

Meanings

interjection, noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

banzai; hurray; hooray

A celebratory shout, traditionally made while raising both arms; also used as a noun or with する for doing the banzai cheer or gesture.

合ごう格かくの知しらせを聞きいて、両りょう手てを上あげて万ばん歳ざいした。
When I heard that I had passed, I raised both arms and shouted banzai.
優ゆう勝しょうおめでとう、万ばん歳ざい！
Congratulations on the victory—hooray!

noun

cause for celebration; something to cheer about

Often used predicatively in expressions like それなら万歳だ, meaning that the outcome would be very welcome or worth celebrating.

予よ定ていより早はやく終おわれば万ばん歳ざいだ。
If it finishes earlier than planned, that will be something to cheer about.

noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', intransitive verb

giving up; throwing one's hands up

A figurative casual use, based on the raised-arms gesture: to throw up one's hands because something is too difficult or hopeless.

この問もん題だいは難むずかしすぎて、途と中ちゅうでバンザイした。
This problem was too difficult, so I gave up partway through.

noun

eternal life and prosperity

Literal or formulaic sense connected with wishing long life and prosperity; uncommon as an ordinary modern standalone noun.

古ふるい祝しゅく辞じでは、万ばん歳ざいは長ちょう寿じゅと繁はん栄えいを願ねがう言こと葉ばとして用もちいられる。
In old congratulatory speeches, 万歳 is used as a word wishing long life and prosperity.

Usage patterns

両りょう手てを挙あげて万ばん歳ざいするto raise both arms and shout banzai
みんな両りょう手てを挙あげて万ばん歳ざいした。
Everyone raised their arms and shouted banzai.
〈事こと〉なら万ばん歳ざいだif that happens, it'll be something to celebrate
給きゅう料りょうが上あがるなら万ばん歳ざいだ。
If my salary goes up, that'll be great news.
もう万ばん歳ざいだto have already thrown up one's hands (given up)
これ以い上じょう難むずかしくなったらもう万ばん歳ざいだ。
If it gets any harder than this, I'm giving up.

Kanji

万ten thousand, 10,000
歳year-end, age, occasion
才genius, years old, cubic shaku

Related words

やった sense 1
やった is a casual personal exclamation of success like 'Yes!', while 万歳 is a more ceremonial or shared cheer often paired with raising both arms.
お手て上あげN1sense 3
お手上げ is the plain, common way to say you've given up or are at a loss, whereas 万歳 in this sense is a lighter, more playful figurative use of the same raised-arms image.
ビバ
万歳 is the native Japanese cheer for 'hurrah/long live', while ビバ is a borrowed Italian-derived interjection used more playfully or ironically.
ガッツポーズ
ガッツポーズ is a solitary clenched-fist gesture of personal triumph, while 万歳 is a shared cheer with both arms raised, often done together with others.

Word family

万ばん歳ざい三さん唱しょう
three cheers; three banzai cheers

Written forms

万ばん歳ざいUsage64%
Standard common spelling for the cheer, the celebratory noun, and related figurative uses.
バンザイUsage17%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is attested and practical for the shouted cheer and casual figurative uses; it is less suited to the old literal sense of long life and prosperity.
ばんざいUsage12%
万ばん才ざいUsage8%
rarely-used kanji form
Rare kanji variant marked as rarely used; 万歳 is the normal spelling.

Etymology

万歳 is a Sino-Japanese compound of 万, 'ten thousand,' and 歳, 'years' or 'age.' It literally evokes 'ten thousand years' and is conventionally associated with wishes for long life and prosperity, from which the celebratory cheer developed.