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物まね (ものまね) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
JLPT N1 Freq. Frequency Top 20,000 Conjugation Meanings 1
noun, noun or participle which takes 'suru', transitive verb
imitation ; impersonation ; mimicry
usually written using kana alone
Refers to imitating someone's voice, mannerisms, or style, often as a performance or for fun. Can be used as a noun or with する to mean 'to imitate/impersonate'.
I imitated my friend's way of speaking and made everyone laugh.
Written forms 物もの まね Usage 20%
Common mixed kanji-kana spelling; usually written in kana.
モノマネ Usage 31%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling; often used in entertainment contexts or for emphasis.
ものまね Usage 28%
Hiragana spelling; very common in everyday writing, consistent with usual-kana usage.
物もの 真似まね Usage 21%
Full kanji spelling; less common and may appear more formal or literary.
Kanji 真 true, reality, Buddhist sect 似 becoming, resemble, counterfeit Similar words 模も 倣ほう 模倣 is a more formal term for imitation or copying, often used in technical or serious contexts, while 物まね is casual and typically refers to playful or performance mimicry.
真似まね 真似 is a broader word for imitation or copying, which can be used in many contexts; 物まね specifically emphasizes imitating a person or character, often for entertainment.
Etymology Compound of 物 (もの, 'thing') and 真似 (まね, 'imitation'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the combination naturally yields the meaning of imitating something or someone.