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(さん)枚(まい)目(め) • (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(さん)枚(まい)目(め)敵(がたき) (sanmaime-gataki, “a comical antagonist character or role”, see also 敵 (kataki, “antagonist, rival, enemy”))

Related terms

二(に)枚(まい)目(め) (nimaime, “handsome character, male love interest”)
二枚目半(にまいめはん) (nimaime-han, “handsome character who is also comical”, literally “second-and-a-half sheet”)

References

Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN
Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

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[KDJ-1] Shōgaku Tosho (1988) 国語大辞典（新装版） [Unabridged Dictionary of Japanese (Revised Edition)] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan, →ISBN

[DJR-2] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN