1.
standalone book, single volume
A book published as a single, independent volume rather than as part of a series, magazine, or periodical. In manga culture, refers to the collected volumes that compile chapters originally serialized in magazines.
単行本が出た。
The collected volume came out.
この漫画は単行本で全20巻ある。
This manga has 20 collected volumes in total.
雑誌連載を読まずに単行本が出るまで待つ人も多い。
Many people skip the magazine serialization and wait for the collected volume to come out.
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 単行本を買う (buy a collected volume)
- 単行本が出る (a volume comes out)
- 単行本化 (being compiled into a volume)
USAGE NOTES:
In everyday conversation, 単行本 most often refers to manga volumes — the tankoubon format that collects several magazine chapters into one book. In publishing more broadly, it refers to any book published as a standalone volume, as opposed to a 文庫本 (paperback) or 雑誌 (magazine). Often abbreviated informally as タンコ.