まな板

Japanese

まな板 (manaita): an amberjack on a cutting board.

Compound of 真魚 (mana, “edible fish”) +‎ 板 (ita, “board”).[1][2][3]

The 俎 kanji spelling comes from Chinese 俎.

Kun’yomi
- (Tokyo) まないた [mànáítá] (Heiban – [0])[4][5][3]
- (Tokyo) まないた [mànáíꜜtà] (Nakadaka – [3])[4][5][3]
- (Tokyo) まないた [mànáítáꜜ] (Odaka – [4])[5][3]
- IPA^(key): [ma̠na̠ita̠]

まな板 (hiragana まないた, rōmaji manaita)

a chopping board, a cutting board
(slang) a girl with a flat chest (compare the English expression “flat as a board”)

俎板木 (まないたぎ) (manaitagi): a board shaped like a cutting board, attached to the top of a sluice gate and used to raise and lower the gate

俎 (まな)板 (いた)に釘打 (くぎう)つよう (manaita ni kugi utsu yō): “like pounding nails into a cutting board” → to care about things that don't matter, from the sense that a cutting board is a single piece of wood and does not need nailing
まな板 (いた)に載 (の)せる (manaita ni noseru): “to put on the cutting board” → to make something or someone the topic of conversation, often implying criticism
まな板 (いた)の鯉 (こい) (manaita no koi): “[like] a carp on a cutting board” → done for, one's goose is cooked
まな板 (いた)の魚 (うお) (manaita no uo): “[like] a fish on a cutting board” → done for, one's goose is cooked
俎 (まな)板 (いた)の上 (うえ)に餌 (えさ)を拾 (ひろ)う鳥 (とり) (manaita no ue ni esa o hirō tori): “a bird picking up food from a cutting board” → a metaphor for doing something while being oblivious of the danger
俎 (まな)板 (いた)を机 (つくえ) (manaita o tsukue): “[using] a cutting board as a desk” → to use something for an inappropriate purpose

1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
1995, 大辞泉 (Daijisen) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
1997, 新明解国語辞典 (Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten), Fifth Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, →ISBN