🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)
まんじゃい【萬歳・万歳】 : manjai | define meaning
manjai
Pronunciation: [man̩d͡ʑai]
Definition
Noun
- Traditional activity of going house-to-house performing an act (such as singing, dancing, double-comedy or puppeteering) to celebrate the New Year
Etymology
Cognate with standard Japanese まんざい【萬歳・万歳】 manzai "double act comedy".
Historical Ryukyuan attestations
- 沖縄語典 Okinawa goten (Okinawan language dictionary) (1896), by Masayo Nakamoto, records "「まんざい」萬歳（マンザイ）、新年ニ人ノ家ニ至リ祝吉ヲ歌ヒ興ヲ催スモノ".
Spelling
| Orthography | Form |
|---|---|
| Kanji | 萬歳 万歳 |
| Kana | まんじゃい |
| Romanization | manjai |
| Pronunciation (IPA) | [man̩d͡ʑai] |
意味：まんざい【萬歳・万歳】
Categories:
萬歳
Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2025, December 4). まんじゃい【萬歳・万歳】 : manjai | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2025, December 5, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/7254/manjai/.