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)

Related words

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)

Similar words

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)

CULTURAL NOTE (Osaka):
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.

Related Words

Related: 落語(らくご) (rakugo)

Compare: コント (sketch comedy)

Compare: 漫談(まんだん) (comic talk)

Related: ボケ (funny man)

Related: ツッコミ (straight man)

core

Added 2026.1.14 23:59 · Revised 2026.10.10 16:55

04000/04458_manzai