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漫画 (màn huà) — manga (Japanese-style comic books or graphic novels); cartoon, comic strip, or caricature (general sense)

Definition

漫画 is the printed/hand-drawn comic — manga books, strips, or caricatures. It contrasts with 动画 (animated film) and 卡通 (a more casual, generic 'cartoon'); 动漫 is the umbrella term covering both.

noun
manga (Japanese-style comic books or graphic novels)cartooncomic stripor caricature (general sense)
Measure word · 本

Examples

  • 漫画。
    màn huà Zài nián qīng rén zhōng jiān fēi cháng shòu huān yíng.
    Manga is very popular among young people.
  • 漫画。
    Zhè wèi huà jiā shàn cháng huà zhèng zhì màn huà.
    This artist is good at drawing political cartoons.
  • 漫画。
    Wǒ měi tiān zuò dì tiě de shí hou dōu huì kàn jǐ yè màn huà.
    Every day when I ride the subway, I read a few pages of manga.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

漫mànfree and casual
画huàpicture

It names a 画, or picture, that is 漫, or free and casual.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
氵Written in full as水shuǐ
Sound part声符shēngfú
曼
曼màn漫
Same sound today

漫 uses 氵 (water) and 曼 for the sound; 曼 also means “vast, extended,” showing water spread out or overflowing.

Open 漫 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 畫; 画 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
聿聿yùbrush
Sound part声符shēngfú
規
規guī畫huà
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 畫 pairs 聿, a brush, with 規 for its sound. The simplified 画 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the old parts.

Open 画 →
Appears in
HSK 3.0 Level 6HSK 2.0 Level 6Art & Fine Arts5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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