Refers to a single frame in a film, animation, or a panel in a comic/manga.
This anime uses 24 frames per second.
Used for a scene or cut in a film, play, or narrative.
time block; period
Refers to a time slot or block in a schedule, especially in educational contexts like a class period.
The panel layout of the manga is skillful.
The final scene of the movie was impressive.
The first period of the schedule is math.
The manga artist split that scene across three panels.
I checked the footage by advancing it one frame at a time.
This term I'm taking three class periods on Mondays.
Thursday afternoon has an open time slot.
フレーム is the technical, often video-editing term for a single frame, while コマ is the everyday Japanese word used for both film frames and manga panels.
時限 is the formal term for a numbered class period, while コマ is the casual way students and teachers refer to the same time slot.
独楽 (こま) is a spinning top toy, a completely different word that merely shares the same pronunciation with コマ (frame/panel).
駒 (こま) refers to a shogi piece or a horse, an unrelated word that happens to sound identical to コマ (frame/panel).
齣 (a frame of film or a panel in a comic strip) is a homophone of コマ but denotes a segment of a sequence, unlike the astronomical or optical コマ.
frame by frame; every frame
Katakana spelling is the most common written form for all senses.
Hiragana spelling is also used, but katakana is more typical.
Kanji form is rare and mostly seen in older or specialized contexts.
Originally from the kanji 齣, which refers to a frame or section. The katakana form コマ is now standard.