万（まん、man）
- ten thousand

The Japanese word 万 (pronounced まん, romanized as "man") primarily means "ten thousand". It is a unit of quantity, specifically representing a group of ten thousand. It can also be used figuratively to express a large number or a vast amount. When used as a counter, it refers to sets of ten thousand items. The character itself is a single kanji. The numerical value is 10,000. 万 can also be used as a prefix to indicate "all" or "every" in some compound words.

⚫︎ 一万円 Translation: Ten thousand yen ⚫︎ 万人 Translation: Ten thousand people ⚫︎ 万歳！ Translation: Long live! (often used in celebration)

⚫︎ 万 is used to quantify things in large numbers. It's especially common when discussing money, people, or any countable item. ⚫︎ It is used in daily conversations, formal situations, and written Japanese. ⚫︎ When used as part of a compound word, it can modify the meaning, often signifying something widespread or universal.

⚫︎ The kanji is 万. ⚫︎ The hiragana reading is まん. ⚫︎ It is not typically written in katakana. ⚫︎ There are no variations in the okurigana for the base word 万.

⚫︎ たくさん (takusan) - a lot, many (more informal) ⚫︎ 多数 (tasuu) - a large number, majority (more formal) ⚫︎ 莫大 (bakudai) - enormous, vast

⚫︎ There isn't a direct antonym for 万, as it is a specific numerical value. The opposite would depend on the context (e.g., few, a small number).

この映画は万人以上の人に観られました。 ・Translation: This movie was watched by more than ten thousand people. ・Explanation: This sentence uses 万 to indicate a large audience size.

万一、彼が来なかったら、どうしますか？ ・Translation: What will we do if, by any chance, he doesn't come? ・Explanation: Here 万一 means "by any chance" or "in the unlikely event," demonstrating its figurative usage as a prefix.

The kanji 万 (wàn in Mandarin Chinese) is an ideogram and has been used to mean "ten thousand" for a long time. Its origin is linked to the concept of a very large, uncountable number, and it has been adopted into Japanese with the same meaning.