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二枚目 (nimaime) Japanese meaning: handsome man | Kotomora
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き
が
ある
。
He's the handsome guy in the class and popular with the girls.
That actor started his career as a handsome leading man.
Usage patterns 〈 人ひと 〉 は 二に 枚まい 目め だ someone is a handsome man
He's said to be the most handsome guy in the class.
二に 枚まい 目め を 演えん じる to play the role of the romantic lead
That actor played the romantic lead in his debut film.
二に 枚まい 目め 気き 取ど り acting like a handsome heartthrob
He was talking to women, acting like some kind of ladies' man.
Kanji 二 two, two radical (no. 7) 枚 sheet of..., counter for flat thin objects or sheets Related words 色男 stresses seductive, playboy-like charm, whereas 二枚目 emphasizes a refined, gentle handsomeness without that womanizing nuance.
イケメン is a casual, modern slang word for a handsome man, while 二枚目 carries an older, more literary or theatrical flavor.
ハンサム is a borrowed adjective describing handsomeness in general, while 二枚目 is a noun tied to a specific romantic-lead image rooted in Kabuki tradition.
二枚目 describes a refined, gentle-looking handsome man (originally a kabuki role type), while 男前 can carry a rougher, more rugged nuance.
二枚目 is a theatrical term for a handsome leading man (often adult), while 美少年 focuses on youthful, boyish beauty.
Opposites 二枚目 is the handsome romantic-lead type, while 三枚目 is the comic, funny-man type, mirroring their original Kabuki actor rankings.
Don't confuse with 二枚目半 describes a man who is handsome but also has a comic or endearing side, unlike plain 二枚目, which is purely the serious, romantic-lead type.
Etymology From the Kabuki ranking system where the second program (二枚目) featured the handsome male lead, hence the term came to mean a good-looking man or romantic actor.
