味

See also: 昧

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

味 (Kangxi radical 30, 口+5, 8 strokes, cangjie input 口十木 (RJD), four-corner 6509₀, composition ⿰口未)

Derived characters

• 𮋞, 菋, 𠽘

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 182, character 13
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 3456
• Dae Jaweon: page 401, character 14
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 1, page 597, character 6
• Unihan data for U+5473

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		味

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series (未) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
寐	*mids
魅	*mrɯds
鬽	*mrɯds
昧	*mɯːds
妹	*mɯːds
眛	*maːds, *mɯːds
沬	*maːds, *hmɯːds, *mɯds
未	*mɯds
味	*mɯds
鮇	*mɯds
菋	*mɯds

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mɯds) : semantic 口 (“mouth”) + phonetic 未 (OC *mɯds).

Etymology

Schuessler (2007) compared this word with Proto-Monic *[ʔ]məp ("good tasting, have a pleasant flavour, be pleasant") > Mon မိပ် (mìp, “to be happy, to enjoy”). Unger (1992) connects this with Tibetan བྲོད (brod) (< བྲོ (bro, “to taste”)). Also compare (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Korean 맛 (mas, “taste”) / 멋 (mes, “taste; charm”).

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 味

1. taste; flavor

   • 甘橘，大厘城有之，其味酸。 [Classical Chinese, trad. and simp.]

     From: Tang Dynasty, Fan Chuo, Manshu, chapter 7, part 7

     Gānjú, Dàlí chéng yǒu zhī, qí wèi suān. [Pinyin]

     Dali City has sweet tangerines, but their flavour is sour.

2. smell; odor (Classifier: 股 m; 𠹻 c)

   點解你間房好似有𠹻味嘅？ [Cantonese, trad.]
   点解你间房好似有𠹻味嘅？ [Cantonese, simp.]

   dim² gaai² nei⁵ gaan¹ fong^4-2 hou² ci⁵ jau⁵ zam⁶ mei⁶ ge³? [Jyutping]

   Why does your room seem like there is some smell?

3. food

   海味  ―  hǎiwèi  ―  seafood [i.e. taste of the sea]

4. to taste; to reflect on; to experience

   品味  ―  pǐnwèi  ―  to taste; to appreciate

5. interest; fun; taste

   意味  ―  yìwèi  ―  meaning

   趣味  ―  qùwèi  ―  fun; taste

6. Classifier for ingredients of a Chinese medicine prescription.
7. Classifier for dishes.

   今日味味餸都啱嗮我胃口。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   今日味味𩠌都啱嗮我胃口。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   gam¹ jat⁶ mei⁶ mei⁶ sung³ dou¹ ngaam¹ saai³ ngo⁵ wai⁶ hau². [Jyutping]

   Every dish here today is my kind of food.

   一魚幾味／一鱼几味 [Cantonese]  ―  jat¹ jyu⁴ gei² mei^6-2 [Jyutping]  ―  one fish, several dishes

8. (Cantonese) Classifier for things: kind; sort

   呢味嘢太惡搞喇。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   呢味嘢太恶搞喇。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   ni¹ mei^6-2 je⁵ taai³ ok³ gaau² laa³. [Jyutping]

   This kind of stuff is too hard to handle.

   原來你中意嗰味嘢嘅。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   原来你中意嗰味嘢嘅。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   jyun⁴ loi⁴ nei⁵ zung¹ ji³ go² mei^6-2 je⁵ ge³. [Jyutping]

   So you like that kind of stuff.

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 味道 (“taste; flavour”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		味
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		滋味, 味道, 風味, 口味
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	味兒
	Taiwan	味道, 味
	Singapore	味道, 味
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	味兒
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	味道
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	味道
	Wuhan	味口, 味
	Guilin	味道
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	味道
	Hefei	味道
Cantonese	Guangzhou	味道, 味
	Hong Kong	味道, 味
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	味道
	Yangjiang	味
	Singapore (Guangfu)	味道, 味
Gan	Nanchang	味道
Hakka	Meixian	味道
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	味緒, 味道
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	味緒, 味道
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	味緒, 味道
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	味緒, 味道
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	味緒, 味道
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	味素, 味緒, 味道
	Hong Kong	味
	Singkawang	味
Jin	Taiyuan	味兒, 味道
Northern Min	Jian'ou	味道
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	味
Southern Min	Xiamen	味, 味素
	Quanzhou	味, 味素
	Zhangzhou	味, 味素
	Penang (Hokkien)	味素
	Singapore (Hokkien)	味素, 味
	Manila (Hokkien)	味, 味素
	Chaozhou	味素, 味道, 味
	Shantou	味道, 味素
	Jieyang	味, 味素
Wu	Shanghai	吃口
	Suzhou	味道
	Wenzhou	味道
Xiang	Changsha	味道
	Shuangfeng	味道

Dialectal synonyms of 氣味 (“smell; odour”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		氣息, 臭味, 氣
Northeastern Mandarin	Beijing	味兒
	Taiwan	味
Jilu Mandarin	Jinan	味兒
Central Plains Mandarin	Xi'an	味兒, 味氣
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	味味子, 味味兒
Southwestern Mandarin	Chengdu	氣氣, 味道
	Wuhan	氣味, 氣色
Jianghuai Mandarin	Yangzhou	味道
	Hefei	味道, 氣味
Cantonese	Guangzhou	味, 𡃴
	Hong Kong	味, 𡃴
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	𡃴
	Yangjiang	味, 𡃴
Gan	Nanchang	氣味
Hakka	Meixian	味道, 氣味
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	味道, 氣味
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	味道, 氣味
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	味道, 氣味
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	味道, 氣味
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	味道, 氣味
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	味道, 氣味
	Hong Kong	味
Jin	Taiyuan	味氣
Northern Min	Jian'ou	味道, 氣色
Eastern Min	Fuzhou	味
Southern Min	Xiamen	味, 味素
	Quanzhou	味, 味素
	Zhangzhou	味
	Singapore (Hokkien)	味, 味素, 峇羽
	Manila (Hokkien)	味, 味素
	Chaozhou	味, 味素, 羶, 氣味
Wu	Suzhou	味道, 氣味
	Wenzhou	氣道
Xiang	Changsha	氣色, 味道, 氣味
	Shuangfeng	氣色, 氣

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (味):

• → Japanese: 味(み) (mi)
• → Korean: 미(味) (mi)
• → Vietnamese: vị (味)

Others:

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji

味

(grade 3 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: み (mi, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: び (bi)
• Kun: あじ (aji, 味, Jōyō)^{←あぢ (adi, 味, historical)}; あじわう (ajiwau, 味わう, Jōyō)^{←あぢはふ (adifafu, 味はふ, historical)}
• Nanori: うまし (umashi); ちか (chika)

Compounds

Compounds

• 味(み)噌(そ) (miso)
• 意味(いみ) (imi)
• 気味(きみ) (kimi), 気味(きび) (kibi)
• 興(きょう)味(み) (kyōmi)
• 地味(じみ) (jimi)
• 三(しゃ)味(み)線(せん) (shamisen), 三(さ)味(み)線(せん) (samisen)
• 趣(しゅ)味(み) (shumi)
• 賞(しょう)味(み) (shōmi)
• 美味(びみ) (bimi)
• 薬(やく)味(み) (yakumi)
• 不味(まず)い (mazui)
• 美味(おい)しい (oishii)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
味
あじ Grade: 3
kun’yomi

/adi/ → /ad͡ʑi/ → /aʑi/

From Old Japanese.

Adjective

味(あじ) • (aji) ^{←あぢ (adi)?}-na (adnominal 味(あじ)な (aji na), adverbial 味(あじ)に (aji ni))

1. clever, smart, witty
2. mysterious, strange

Inflection

Inflection of 味

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	味だろ	あじだろ	aji daro
Continuative (連用形)	味で	あじで	aji de
Terminal (終止形)	味だ	あじだ	aji da
Attributive (連体形)	味な	あじな	aji na
Hypothetical (仮定形)	味なら	あじなら	aji nara
Imperative (命令形)	味であれ	あじであれ	aji de are
Key constructions
Informal negative	味ではない 味じゃない	あじではない あじじゃない	aji de wa nai aji ja nai
Informal past	味だった	あじだった	aji datta
Informal negative past	味ではなかった 味じゃなかった	あじではなかった あじじゃなかった	aji de wa nakatta aji ja nakatta
Formal	味です	あじです	aji desu
Formal negative	味ではありません 味じゃありません	あじではありません あじじゃありません	aji de wa arimasen aji ja arimasen
Formal past	味でした	あじでした	aji deshita
Formal negative past	味ではありませんでした 味じゃありませんでした	あじではありませんでした あじじゃありませんでした	aji de wa arimasen deshita aji ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive	味で	あじで	aji de
Conditional	味なら（ば）	あじなら（ば）	aji nara (ba)
Provisional	味だったら	あじだったら	aji dattara
Volitional	味だろう	あじだろう	aji darō
Adverbial	味に	あじに	aji ni
Degree	味さ	あじさ	ajisa

Classical conjugation of "味なり" (ナリ活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	味なら	あぢなら	adinara
Continuative (連用形)	味に[1] 味なり[2]	あぢに あぢなり	adini adinari
Terminal (終止形)	味なり	あぢなり	adinari
Attributive (連体形)	味なる	あぢなる	adinaru
Realis (已然形)	味なれ	あぢなれ	adinare
Imperative (命令形)	味なれ	あぢなれ	adinare
Key constructions
Negative	味ならず	あぢならず	adinarazu
Contrasting conjunction	味なれど	あぢなれど	adinaredo
Causal conjunction	味なれば	あぢなれば	adinareba
Conditional conjunction	味ならば	あぢならば	adinaraba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge)	味なりき	あぢなりき	adinariki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge)	味なりけり	あぢなりけり	adinarikeri
Adverbial	味に	あぢに	adini
[1]Without auxiliary verb. [2]With auxiliary verb.

Noun

味(あじ) • (aji) ^{←あぢ (adi)?}

1. a flavour (UK)/flavor (US), taste
   • 2006 April 9, Nobuhiro Watsuki, “武(ブ)装(ソウ)錬(レン)金(キン)ピリオド [Armed Alchemy: The End]”, in 武(ブ)装(ソウ)錬(レン)金(キン) (武(ブ)装(ソウ)錬(レン)金(キン)) [Armed Alchemy], volume 10, Tokyo: Shueisha, →ISBN:

     食(た)べる？ママの味(あじ)　正(せい)確(かく)にはママの出(で)来(き)損(そこ)ないの成(な)れの果(は)ての味(あじ)

     Taberu? Mama no aji Seikaku ni wa mama no dekisokonai no nare no hate no aji

     You want some? It has my mom’s taste. Well, actually it has the taste of my failed attempts at cloning her taste.

   Synonym: 味覚 (mikaku)

2. feeling, sensation

   Synonym: 感触 (kanshoku)

3. experience, taste

   Synonym: 味わい (ajiwai)

4. (go) This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Derived terms

• 味(あじ)わう (ajiwau)
• 味(あじ)気無(きな)い (ajikinai), 味(あじ)気無(けな)い (ajikenai)
• 紫陽花(アジサイ) (ajisai)
• 味(あじ)の素(もと) (Ajinomoto)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
味
み Grade: 3
goon

From Middle Chinese 味 (MC mj+jH).

Also used in Old Japanese as 借音 (shakuon) kana for ⟨mi₂⟩.

Affix

味(み) or 味(affix) • (mi or affix) [[Category:Japanese
|み]]

1. flavor, taste
2. tasting, savoring
3. taste, savor
4. Alternative spelling of 身 (mi): body part

Derived terms

• 味(み)醂(りん) (mirin)

Noun

味(み) • (mi) 

1. a flavour (UK)/flavor (US), taste

   Synonym: 味覚 (mikaku)

Derived terms

• 味(み)方(かた) (mikata)

Suffix

味(み) or 味(suffix) • (mi or suffix) [[Category:Japanese
|み]]

1. counter for kinds of food, drink, medicine, etc.
2. (after an i-adjective stem) Alternative spelling of み (mi): -ness

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 青(アオ)味(ミ)泥(ドロ) (aomidoro)
• 赤(あか)味(み) (akami)
• 厚(あつ)味(み) (atsumi)
• 甘(あま)味(み) (amami)
• 旨(うま)味(み) (umami)
• 黒(くろ)味(み) (kuromi)
• 鞘(サヤ)味(ミ)泥(ドロ) (sayamidoro)
• 皹(ヒビ)味(ミ)泥(ドロ) (hibimidoro)
• 星(ホシ)味(ミ)泥(ドロ) (hoshimidoro)

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Korean

Hanja

味 • (mi) (hangeul 미, revised mi, McCune–Reischauer mi)

1. This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

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Old Japanese

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

味 (adi) (kana あぢ)

1. flavor, flavour

Derived terms

• 紫陽花 (adisawi)
• 味群 (adimura)

Descendants

• Japanese: 味 (aji)

See also

• あぢさはふ (adisapapu, pillow word that contains this kanji)

Etymology 2

Prefix

味 (uma-) (kana うま)

1. Alternative spelling of 甘 (uma-): This term needs a translation to English. Please help out and add a translation, then remove the text {{rfdef}}.

Derived terms

• 味飯 (umaipi₁)
• 味酒 (umasake₂)

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Vietnamese

Han character

(deprecated template usage) 味 (vị, mùi, mồi)

1. Template:Nom form of
2. Template:han tu form of