三枚目
Japanese
Etymology
Kanji in this term | ||
---|---|---|
三 | 枚 | 目 |
さん Grade: 1 | まい Grade: 6 | め Grade: 1 |
goon | kun’yomi |
The literal sense is a compound of 三 (san, “three”) + 枚 (mai, counter for flat things) + 目 (me, ordinal marker), literally “third sheet, third flat thing”. The idiomatic usage arose from a convention during the Edo Period wherein a kabuki play's comic character (or less commonly, the antagonist) would be listed third on signboards.[1][2]
Pronunciation
- (Tokyo) さんまいめ [sàńmáíméꜜ] (Odaka – [5])[2]
- IPA(key): [sã̠mːa̠ime̞]
Noun
三枚目 • (sanmaime)
- Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see 三, 枚, 目. (the third sheet or other flat thing)
- a comic character
- (by extension) a funny or ridiculous person
Derived terms
- 三枚目敵 (sanmaime-gataki, “a comical antagonist character or role”, see also 敵 (kataki, “antagonist, rival, enemy”))
Related terms
- 二枚目 (nimaime, “handsome character, male love interest”)
- 二枚目半 (nimaime-han, “handsome character who is also comical”, literally “second-and-a-half sheet”)
References
- 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
- 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN