Manga, manhwa and manhua: what is the difference?
All three words mean comics. The difference is where they come from, and that affects how they look, how you read them and how you pay for them.
Manga (Japan)
Usually black and white, drawn for print, and read right to left. In English it is mostly sold as volumes, in print and as ebooks. Digital platforms also sell individual chapters. Browse the Japanese shelf.
Manhwa and webtoons (Korea)
Most current Korean comics are webtoons: full colour, laid out as one long vertical strip, and made to be scrolled on a phone. They are released as episodes, usually weekly. Popular series are later collected into print volumes, which read left to right. Browse the Korean shelf.
Manhua (China)
Chinese comics, today mostly full colour and published online first, often as adaptations of popular novels. Print editions read left to right. Browse the Chinese shelf.
How you pay
- Volumes: you buy a book, in print or as an ebook, from a bookseller. Our pages link Amazon, Bookshop.org and Kobo where a title is sold there.
- Episodes: reading platforms sell episodes one at a time or through a subscription. The first few are usually free, so you can try a series before paying.
Every title page says which of these applies and links only to official sources. See Where to read legally for the platforms.
One story, several formats
Many series exist as both a novel and a comic. Where that is true, the title page lists both and shows where each can be bought or read.