二枚目

Japanese

Etymology
Kanji in this term
二 枚 目
に
Grade: 1		 まい
Grade: 6		 め
Grade: 1
goon kun’yomi

The literal sense is a compound of 二 (ni, “two”) +‎ 枚 (mai, counter for flat things) +‎ 目 (me, ordinal marker), literally “second sheet, second flat thing”. The idiomatic usage arose from a convention during the Edo Period wherein a kabuki play's handsome character would be listed second on signboards.[1][2]

Pronunciation
  • (Tokyo) にまいめ​ [nìmáíméꜜ] (Odaka – [4])[2]
  • IPA(key): [ɲ̟ima̠ime̞]

Noun

二(に)枚(まい)目(め) • (nimaime) 

  1. Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see 二,‎ 枚,‎ 目. (the second sheet or other flat thing)
  2. a handsome male character, especially one that gets involved in a romance during the story
  3. (by extension) a handsome man, a male love interest

Derived terms
  • 二枚目半(にまいめはん) (nimaime-han, “a comic character who is also the male love interest”, literally “second-and-a-half sheet”)

See also

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