漫才(まんざい)

まんざい
noun
manzai
1. manzai, stand-up comedy duo
A traditional form of Japanese comedy featuring two performers: a straight man (tsukkomi) and a funny man (boke) in rapid-fire dialogue.
漫才(まんざい)を見(み)て笑(わら)った。
I laughed watching manzai.
漫才(まんざい)コンビを組(く)んでいる。
I'm part of a manzai duo.
大阪(おおさか)は漫才(まんざい)で有名(ゆうめい)だ。
Osaka is famous for manzai.
ボケと突(つ)っ込(こ)みの掛(か)け合(あ)いが漫才(まんざい)の面白(おもしろ)さだ。
The back-and-forth between the funny man and straight man is what makes manzai entertaining.
友達(ともだち)と二人(ふたり)で漫才(まんざい)をやってみたら、思(おも)った以上(いじょう)に難(むずか)しかった。
When I tried doing manzai with a friend, it was harder than I expected.

COMPOUND: 漫(まん) (random, comic) + 才(さい) (talent)

KEY ROLES:

  • ボケ (funny man) - delivers absurd/silly lines
  • 突(つ)っ込(こ)み (straight man) - corrects and reacts to boke

COMMON COLLOCATIONS:

  • 漫才(まんざい)をする/やる (to do manzai)
  • 漫才(まんざい)コンビ (manzai duo)
  • 漫才(まんざい)師(し) (manzai performer)
  • M-1グランプリ (M-1 Grand Prix - famous manzai competition)

CONTRAST:

  • 漫才(まんざい) - duo comedy, dialogue-based
  • 落語(らくご) - solo comedic storytelling
  • コント - sketch comedy
  • 一人(ひとり)ボケ突(つ)っ込(こ)み (solo routine playing both roles)

OSAKA CONNECTION:
Manzai is strongly associated with Osaka and the Kansai region. Major talent agencies like 吉本興業(よしもとこうぎょう) are based there.

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Related Words

Related: 落語(らくご) (rakugo)
core
Added 2026.1.14 23:59 · Revised 2026.3.5 9:27
04000/04458_manzai