manga

noun

man·​ga ˈmäŋ-gə 

plural manga also mangas

: Japanese comic books and graphic novels considered collectively as a genre

The characters' faces beam the big-eyed, manically jolly winsomeness that in anime and manga signals contentment.

—Peter Schjeldahl

also : an individual comic book or graphic novel of the manga genre

This black-and-white manga is based on the Japanese animated TV series of the same name …

—Library Journal

Examples of manga in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The original series includes 220 episodes — 135 adapted from Masashi’s manga and a further 85 that are new material. —Declan Gallagher, EW.com, 4 Aug. 2025

That’s because, for some, the natural disaster had seemingly been foretold four years earlier, in a Japanese manga comic book. —Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 3 Aug. 2025

In Death Note, which is based on Tsugumi Ohba and Takeshi Obata’s manga of the same name, James discovers an ancient notebook that has the power to kill people if their name is written inside of it. —Tim Lammers, Forbes.com, 29 July 2025

The manga follows 29-year-old Hiroto Ikuta, a carefree protagonist navigating life without conventional ambitions. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 22 July 2025

Word History

Etymology

Japanese, comic, cartoon, from man- involuntary, aimless + -ga picture

First Known Use

circa 1951, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for manga

• ganga
• pampanga

Kids Definition

manga

noun

man·​ga ˈmäŋ-gə 

: a Japanese comic book or graphic novel