Grammar
N 만이다
Meaning
ExpertN manida
Attaches to a noun phrase naming a length of time to mean 'it is the first time in N' or 'it's been N since it last happened'. Common in news writing to state how much time has passed since a previous occurrence, and it's also the source of the everyday greeting 오랜만이다/오랜만이에요 ('long time no see').
Form
[Time period] + 만이다, placed at the end of a sentence (e.g. 3년 만이다 'it's the first time in 3 years'). Often paired with a preceding clause using -(으)ㄴ 것은 ~만이다 ('the fact that ~ happened is for the first time in N'). When used mid-sentence to modify a following clause instead of ending the sentence, 이다 changes to 에 (see -(으)ㄴ 지 N 만에).
Examples
기준금리를 인상한 것은 3년 6개월 만이다.
This is the first rate hike in three years and six months.
그를 만난 것은 5년 만이다.
It had been 5 years since I'd last met him.
비가 온 것은 한 달 만이다.
This is the first rain in a month.
정말 오랜만이에요!
It's really been a long time!
Common mistakes & nuance
In casual speech, 오랜만이다/오랜만이에요 (a fixed noun 오랜만 + 이다) works as a standalone greeting without needing an explicit clause before it — it doesn't have to follow the full -(으)ㄴ 것은 ~만이다 pattern.
Similar grammar
- -(으)ㄴ 것은 -이다
This pattern is often combined with N 만이다 to emphasize which event happened after the gap (인상한 것은 3년 만이다 'what happened is: a hike, for the first time in 3 years'). On its own, -(으)ㄴ 것은 -이다 is a general emphasis construction and doesn't involve elapsed time at all.
- -(으)ㄴ 지 N 만에
-(으)ㄴ 지 N 만에 is the mid-sentence, adverbial counterpart of N 만이다 — it modifies a following verb instead of ending the sentence (도착한 지 3일 만에 떠났다 'left just 3 days after arriving') versus the sentence-final 3일 만이다.