Copyright © 2026 Kotomora. All Rights Reserved.
漫画 (まんが) Japanese meaning | Kotomora
Common word JLPT N5 Freq. Frequency Top 500 Meanings 1
noun
manga ; comic ; cartoon
Refers to comics, manga, comic strips, or cartoons as drawn works. In English, manga often specifically means Japanese-style comics; in Japanese, 漫画 is the ordinary broad word for comics and drawn cartoon stories. Animated works are usually アニメ, not 漫画.
週しゅう
刊かん
誌し
に
漫まん
画が
を
連れん
載さい
し
て
いる
。
My older brother has a comic serialized in a weekly magazine.
Written forms 漫まん 画が Usage 57%
Standard common kanji spelling.
マンガ Usage 38%
kana-only spelling
Common katakana spelling, often used stylistically or in publishing and pop-culture contexts; it is a no-kanji reading.
まんが Usage 5%
Kanji 漫 cartoon, involuntarily, unrestrained Similar words アニメ Means animation or anime; 漫画 refers to drawn comics on a page or screen, not animated video.
コミック A loanword meaning comic or comic book; often overlaps with 漫画 but can sound more like a publishing category or product label.
絵え Means picture or drawing in general; 漫画 is specifically comics, cartoons, or manga-style narrative drawings.
Etymology Written with 漫, suggesting something free, rambling, or whimsical, and 画, picture or drawing. This is a useful kanji-based explanation of the spelling; no detailed historical derivation is specified.
