巫女

Chinese

		witch; Malay	female; woman; daughter
trad. (巫女)		巫	女
simp. #(巫女)		巫	女
anagram		女巫

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): wūnǚ

  (Zhuyin): ㄨ ㄋㄩˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mou⁴ neoi⁵

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: wūnǚ
    • Zhuyin: ㄨ ㄋㄩˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: wunyǔ
    • Wade–Giles: wu¹-nü³
    • Yale: wū-nyǔ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: uneu
    • Palladius: унюй (unjuj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /u⁵⁵ ny²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
    • Jyutping: mou⁴ neoi⁵
    • Yale: mòuh néuih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mou⁴ noey⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: mou⁴ nêu⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mou̯²¹ nɵy̯¹³/

Noun

巫女

1. Japanese female shaman; shrine maiden; miko

Japanese

巫女 (miko): a pair of miko or shrine maidens at Meiji Jingu.

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
巫	女
みこ
Jinmeiyō	Grade: 1
jukujikun

Alternative spellings
神子 神巫 覡 巫

From Old Japanese. Originally a compound of 神(み) (mi, “spirit, god”) + 子(こ) (ko, “child”), as suggested by the alternative spelling 神子.

Formerly spelled as 巫 on its own. The modern kanji spelling 巫女 appears to be jukujikun (熟(じゅく)字(じ)訓(くん)).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) みこ [míꜜkò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• (Tokyo) みこ [mìkó] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [mʲiko̞]

Noun

巫女(みこ) • (miko) 

1. an unmarried woman who serves at a Shintō shrine, helping to receive visitors and performing 神楽 (kagura) dances at ceremonies, among other responsibilities; a shrine maid
2. an unmarried woman who serves a deity as a medium to convey oracles
   • 2017 April 15, “星(せい)杯(はい)を戴(いただ)く巫(み)女(こ) [Priestess Who Drinks from the Star Chalice]”, in Code(コード) of(オブ) the(ザ) Duelist(デュエリスト), Konami:

     星(せい)神(しん)に鎮(ちん)魂(こん)の祈(いの)りを捧(ささ)げる巫女(みこ)。

     Seishin ni chinkon no inori o sasageru miko.

     A priestess who offers soul-reposing prayers to the Star God.

Usage notes

Using the alternative spelling 神子, a miko could be of either gender, but unmarried young women are by far the most common.

Synonyms

• (shrine dancer):
  • 舞(まい)姫(ひめ) (maihime)
  • 御(み)神(かん)子(こ) (mikanko)
  • 巫(いち)子(こ) (ichiko), 巫(いた)子(こ) (itako)
  • 神(かぐ)楽(ら)女(め) (kagurame)
• (oracle):
  • 巫(かんなぎ) (kannagi), 覡(かんなぎ) (kannagi)
  • 巫(いち)子(こ) (ichiko), 巫(いた)子(こ) (itako)
  • 口(くち)寄(よ)せ (kuchiyose)

Derived terms

• 歩(ある)き巫女(みこ) (aruki miko): a wandering miko
• 巫女(みこ)兵(へい) (miko hei): a warrior priestess (fantasy)
• 黒(くろ)巫女(みこ) (kuro miko): a dark priestess (fantasy)
• 口(くち)寄(よせ)巫女(みこ) (kuchiyose miko): a miko acting as a medium

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
巫	女
ふ Jinmeiyō	じょ Grade: 1
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese compound 巫女 (mju? nrjo^X, literally “shaman + woman”). Compare modern Mandarin reading wūnǚ.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) ふじょ [fúꜜjò] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [ɸɯ̟ʑo̞]

Noun

巫(ふ)女(じょ) • (fujo) ^{←ふぢよ (fudyo)?}

1. an unmarried woman who serves a deity as a medium to convey oracles

Synonyms

• 巫(かんなぎ) (kannagi), 覡(かんなぎ) (kannagi)
• 巫(いち)子(こ) (ichiko), 巫(いた)子(こ) (itako)
• 口(くち)寄(よ)せ (kuchiyose)

References

• “〈^▲巫女〉”, in 漢字ぺディア [Kanjipedia]‎^[1] (in Japanese), The Japan Kanji Aptitude Testing Foundation, 2015–2026

Korean

Hanja in this term
巫	女

Noun

巫女 • (munyeo) (hangeul 무녀)

1. hanja form^? of 무녀 (“Korean priestess; Japanese shrine maiden”)