banzai

English

Etymology

From Japanese 万歳(ばんざい) (banzai, “long live..., huzzah, hurrah”), from Middle Chinese 萬歲 (mʉɐn^H siuᴇi^H), from Old Chinese 萬歲 (*mans s-qʷʰats, “10,000 years [of life]”, i.e. “immortality”), from 萬／万 (wàn, “10,000”) 歲／岁 (suì, “year (of age)”).

Compare Mandarin 萬歲／万岁 (wànsùi).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈbɑːnˈzaɪ/, /ˈbænˈzaɪ/
• Hyphenation: ban‧zai

Adjective

banzai (comparative more banzai, superlative most banzai)

1. Thrill-seeking; wild.
   • 1991, Cycle World: Volume 30:

     Still, the Seca II isn't meant to be a racebike, and power is adequate for all but the most banzai backroad blitzing.

Derived terms

• banzai attack
• banzai board
• banzai charge
• banzai crazy
• Banzai pipeline
• go banzai

 

Interjection

banzai

1. A cry or cheer of enthusiasm, or to celebrate victory.

Translations

a celebratory cheer

• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 萬歲／万岁 (zh) (wànsuì)

• French: banzaï (fr)
• Indonesian: banzai (id)
• Japanese: 万歳 (ja) (ばんざい, banzai)
• Korean: 만세 (ko) (manse)
• Portuguese: banzai (pt)
• Russian: банза́й (ru) (banzáj), бандза́й (bandzáj)
• Vietnamese: vạn tuế (vi), muôn năm (vi)

hurrah — see hurrah

Noun

banzai (plural banzais)

1. A cry or cheer of "banzai", to express enthusiasm or celebrate victory.
2. Clipping of banzai charge.

Verb

banzai (third-person singular simple present banzais, present participle banzaiing, simple past and past participle banzaied)

1. (transitive, intransitive) To carry out a banzai charge (against).

Anagrams

• Abazin, Zabian, Zainab

Indonesian

Etymology

From Japanese 万歳 (banzai, “long live..., huzzah, hurrah”), from Middle Chinese 萬歲／万岁 (mjòn-sjwèi), from Old Chinese 萬歲／万岁 (*mans s-qʷʰats, “10,000 years [of life]”, i.e. “immortality”), from 萬／万 (wàn, “10,000”) 歲／岁 (suì, “year (of age)”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ban.zai̯/
• Hyphenation: ban‧zai
• Rhymes: -anzai̯, -zai̯, -ai̯

Noun

banzai

1. A cry or cheer of "banzai", to express enthusiasm or celebrate victory.

Further reading

• “banzai” in Kamus Besar Bahasa Indonesia, Jakarta: Agency for Language Development and Cultivation — Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology of the Republic Indonesia, 2016.

Japanese

Romanization

banzai

1. Rōmaji transcription of ばんざい