U+307F, み
HIRAGANA LETTER MI

[U+307E]
Hiragana
[U+3080]

JapaneseEdit

Stroke order
 

PronunciationEdit

Etymology 1Edit

Derived in the Heian period from writing the man'yōgana kanji in the cursive sōsho style.

SyllableEdit

(romaji mi)

  1. The hiragana syllable (mi). Its equivalent in katakana is (mi). It is the thirty-second syllable in the gojūon order; its position is (ma-gyō i-dan, row ma, section i).
See alsoEdit

Etymology 2Edit

For pronunciation and definitions of – see the following entries.
4
[prefix] un-; in- (not yet)
[proper noun] the Sheep, the eighth of the twelve Earthly Branches
3
[affix] flavor, taste
[affix] tasting, savoring
[affix] taste, savor
[affix] Alternative spelling of (mi): body part
[noun] a flavour (UK)/flavor (US), taste
[counter] counter for kinds of food, drink, medicine, etc.
S
[affix] Used in transliterations.
S
[affix] charm; fascination
S
[affix] eyebrow
3
[affix] beauty; beautiful
[suffix] suffix used by female given names, such as 奈美 (なみ, Nami), 恵美 (えみ, Emi; めぐみ, Megumi), 宏美 (ひろみ, Hiromi)
[suffix] (rare) suffix used by male given names
S
[affix] tiny; small; minute
(This term, , is an alternative spelling of the above Sino-Japanese terms.
For a list of all kanji read as , not just those used in Japanese terms, see Category:Japanese kanji read as み.)

Etymology 3Edit

For pronunciation and definitions of – see the following entries.
3
[noun] a body; (by extension):
[noun] the main part of something
[noun] the blade of a sword (as opposed to the handle)
[noun] meat, flesh (as opposed to skin and bone)
[noun] wood (as opposed to the bark)
[noun] oneself
[noun] one's position, one's social standing, one's circumstances
3
[noun] seed; fruit; nut
[noun] content; ingredients
[noun] good result
1
[numeral] three
S
[prefix] (honorific, archaic) added to gods and other spiritually important things
[prefix] (honorific, archaic) added to nouns to indicate godlike respect
[prefix] (honorific, archaic) added to placenames to emphasize beauty
3
[affix] beauty; beautiful
[suffix] suffix used by female given names, such as 奈美 (なみ, Nami), 恵美 (えみ, Emi; めぐみ, Megumi), 宏美 (ひろみ, Hiromi)
[suffix] (rare) suffix used by male given names
3
[noun] (rare) a god or spirit
Alternative spelling
1
[noun] seeing, looking
[noun] the look or appearance of something
[noun] a view, as of a landscape
J
[proper noun] the Snake, the sixth of the twelve Earthly Branches
(This term, , is an alternative spelling of the above terms.
For a list of all kanji read as , not just those used in Japanese terms, see Category:Japanese kanji read as み.)

(The following entries are uncreated: , , .)

Etymology 4Edit

From Old Japanese. ⟨mi1/mi/.

Further derivation unclear. Theories include:[1]

  • Might be a suffix all on its own.
  • Might be a particle.
  • Might be the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, continuative or stem form) of an auxiliary.

If derived from an auxiliary, this may be the suppositional / presumptive auxiliary (mu). Possibly related to (me, eye), 見る (miru, to see); compare English look like as used to describe the quality of something.

SuffixEdit

(-mi

  1. : (after an i-adjective stem) -ness; used for "quality" of being, as opposed to suffix (sa), also translated as -ness, used for "degree" of being
    (あたた)(あつ)(おも)(しろ)
    atatakami, atsumi, omoshiromi
    warmth, thickness, interest
  2. (Internet slang) (after other types of words as well) -ness[2][3]
    外国(がいこく)がある
    gaikoku-mi ga aru
    has a foreign country-ish vibe
  3. (after an i-adjective stem) place
    (たか)(あか)(ふか)
    takami, akarumi, fukami
    high place, bright place, deep place
Usage notesEdit

Sense 1 is sometimes confused or conflated with Sino-Japanese (mi, taste, flavor), hence the ateji spelling.

See alsoEdit

Etymology 5Edit

From Old Japanese. ⟨mi1/mi/.

Considered to be from the 連用形 (ren'yōkei, continuative or stem form) of 見る (miru, to try, to attempt).[4]

SuffixEdit

(-mi

  1. (after verbs with opposite meanings in the ren'yōkei continuative or -zu negative continuative) indicates alternation of action or state, equivalent to the modern expression たりたり (…tari …tari)
    ()()らず
    furimi furazumi
    sometimes raining and sometimes not raining → raining on and off
    ()(くも)
    terimi kumorimi
    sometimes shiny and sometimes cloudy

Etymology 6Edit

Old Japanese. ⟨mi1/mi/. Only used in waka since Early Middle Japanese.[5]

SuffixEdit

(-mi

  1. (obsolete, after an i-adjective stem) as, because; forming an adverbial clause: being
    (やま)(たか)
    yama o takami
    as/because the mountain is high; the mountain being high
  2. (obsolete, after an i-adjective stem) Expresses thinking or feeling, followed by verbs like 思ふ and .

Etymology 7Edit

From みろ.

VerbEdit

(mi

  1. (colloquial) imperative of みる (try)

ReferencesEdit

  1. ^ ”, in 日本国語大辞典 (Nihon Kokugo Daijiten, Nihon Kokugo Daijiten)[1] (in Japanese), 2nd edition, Tōkyō: Shogakukan, 2000, →ISBN
  2. ^ 依田 綾乃 (2016), “ツイッターに用いられる「-み」の用法”, in 信大国語教育[2]
  3. ^ 宇野 和 (2018), “Twitterで見られる名詞に後接する接尾辞ミ : 「ぽさ」「らしさ」と比較して [A Study of the Suffix “mi” Connected with Nouns Often Used on Twitter : Comparing “posa” and “rashisa”]”, in 人間文化創成科学論叢[3]
  4. ^ 1988, 国語大辞典(新装版) (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
  5. ^ 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN