Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
得意満面 (tokuimanmen) Japanese meaning: triumphant air | Kotomora
Report an issue with this page
得とく
意い
満まん
面めん
の
笑え
み
を
浮う
かべ
た
。
Having passed the exam, he came home with a triumphant air.
Usage patterns 得とく 意い 満まん 面めん の 笑え みを 浮う かべる to flash a triumphant, self-satisfied smile
He came in first on the test and flashed a triumphant smile.
〈 人ひと 〉 は 得とく 意い 満まん 面めん だ someone looks utterly triumphant/smug
The champion athlete looked absolutely triumphant.
得とく 意い 満まん 面めん で 〈 動どう 詞し 〉 to do something with a triumphant, smug air
He showed off his work with a smug, triumphant air.
Related words 得意げ is the common everyday word for looking proud or smug, while 得意満面 is a stronger, more literary yojijukugo describing a face overflowing with triumph.
鼻高々 focuses on the image of a puffed-up, proud nose and is used colloquially, whereas 得意満面 describes the whole face and reads as more formal.
誇らしげ conveys a gentler sense of pride without the smug edge that 得意満面 carries.
得意満面 focuses on a face beaming with pride, whereas 意気揚々 describes an overall triumphant bearing or gait.
Etymology A yojijukugo combining 得意 (triumph, pride) and 満面 (whole face). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the phrase is conventionally used to describe a face beaming with self-satisfaction.
