未

See also: 木, 夫, 末, 禾, and 耒

Translingual

Stroke order

Han character

未 (Kangxi radical 75, 木+1, 5 strokes, cangjie input 十木 (JD), four-corner 5090₀, composition ⿻一木)

Derived characters

• 味 妹 昧 魅

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 509, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14419
• Dae Jaweon: page 890, character 3
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1150, character 1
• Unihan data for U+672A

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Chinese

simp. and trad.		未

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 未
Shang		Western Zhou		Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Bronze inscriptions	Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Oracle bone script	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script

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

Pictogram (象形) – a tree with two layers of branches, or a tree's top branches not yet at full growth, signifying not grown (yet)

Etymology

"not yet"

Pulleyblank (1995), apud Schuessler (2007), proposes that this word results from a fusion of negative root *m- with perfective particle 既 (jì, “already”).

"eighth earthly branch"

Ferlus (2013) notes there is good correspondence with Austronesian Atayal miːts (“goat”). Also compare Lao ມົດ (mot, “year of the goat”).

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): wèi (wei⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄨㄟˋ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mei⁶
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): vi
• Eastern Min (BUC): muôi / ê
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): bē / bēr / bōe / běr / bī

  (Teochew, Peng'im): bhuê⁷ / bhi⁷

• Wu (Wugniu)
  • (Northern): ⁶mi; ⁶vi

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: wèi
    • Zhuyin: ㄨㄟˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: wèi
    • Wade–Giles: wei⁴
    • Yale: wèi
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: wey
    • Palladius: вэй (vɛj)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /weɪ̯⁵¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: mei⁶
    • Yale: meih
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mei⁶
    • Guangdong Romanization: méi⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mei̯²²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: vi
    • Hakka Romanization System: vi
    • Hagfa Pinyim: vi⁴
    • Sinological IPA: /vi⁵⁵/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: muôi / ê
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mui²⁴²/, /ɛi²⁴²/

Note:

• muôi - vernacular;
• ê - literary.

• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Taipei, Yilan, Magong, Philippines)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bē
    • Tâi-lô: bē
    • Phofsit Daibuun: be
    • IPA (Xiamen): /be²²/
    • IPA (Philippines): /be⁴¹/
    • IPA (Taipei, Yilan): /be³³/
  • (Hokkien: Quanzhou, Sanxia, Kinmen, Hsinchu)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bēr
    • Tâi-lô: bēr
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /bə⁴¹/
    • IPA (Kinmen): /bə²²/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou, Yilan, Tainan, Kaohsiung, Taichung, Penang)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bōe
    • Tâi-lô: buē
    • Phofsit Daibuun: boe
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /bue²²/
    • IPA (Yilan, Tainan, Kaohsiung): /bue³³/
    • IPA (Penang): /bue²¹/
  • (Hokkien: Lukang)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: běr
    • Tâi-lô: běr
    • IPA (Lukang): /bə³³/
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, General Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bī
    • Tâi-lô: bī
    • Phofsit Daibuun: bi
    • IPA (Taipei, Kaohsiung): /bi³³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /bi⁴¹/
    • IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /bi²²/

Note:

• bē/bēr/bōe/běr - vernacular;
• bī - literary.

• (Teochew)
  • Peng'im: bhuê⁷ / bhi⁷
  • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: buē / bī
  • Sinological IPA ^(key): /bue¹¹/, /bi¹¹/

Note:

• bhuê7 - “not; have not”;
• bhi7 - one of the earthly branches.

• Wu
  • (Shanghai):
    • Wugniu: ⁶mi; ⁶vi
    • MiniDict: mi^去; vi^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³mi; ³vi
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /mi²³/, /vi²³/

Note:

• 3mi - vernacular;
• 3vi - literary.

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• Middle Chinese: mj+jH

Rime
Character	未
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	明 (4)
Final (韻)	微 (21)
Tone (調)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	無沸切
Baxter	mj+jH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/mʉiH/
Pan Wuyun	/mʷɨiH/
Shao Rongfen	/miuəiH/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/mujH/
Li Rong	/miuəiH/
Wang Li	/mĭwəiH/
Bernard Karlgren	/mwe̯iH/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	wèi
Expected Cantonese Reflex	mei6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*m[ə]t-s/

  (Zhengzhang): /*mɯds/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	未	未
Reading #	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	wèi	wèi
Middle Chinese	‹ mjɨjH ›	‹ mjɨjH ›
Old Chinese	/*m[ə]t-s/	/*m[ə]t-s/
English	not yet	8th earthly branch
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	未
Reading #	1/1
No.	12917
Phonetic component	未
Rime group	隊
Rime subdivision	1
Corresponding MC rime	未
Old Chinese	/*mɯds/
Notes	從屮從木與芔字同根， 陳獨秀雲木上加屮象幼枝

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 未

1. to have not; not yet

   未來／未来  ―  wèilái  ―  future [lit. have not come]

2. not
3. ^† (deprecated template usage) Alternative form of 味 (wèi).
4. (Cantonese, Min) used at the end of questions to ask if one has done something yet

   食飽未？／食饱未？ [Cantonese]  ―  sik⁶ baau² mei⁶? [Jyutping]  ―  Are you full yet?

   • 你買咗未先？ [Cantonese, trad.]
     你买咗未先？ [Cantonese, simp.]

     nei⁵ maai⁵ zo² mei⁶ sin¹? [Jyutping]

     First off, have you even bought it yet?

5. eighth of twelve earthly branches
6. lamb (羊) of Chinese zodiac

Synonyms

• (not yet): 還沒／还没 (háiméi), 仍未 (réngwèi); (literary) 尚未 (shàngwèi); (Cantonese) 仲未, 並未／并未 (bìngwèi); (Hakka) 吂曾, 吂識／吂识; (Min Nan) 猶未／犹未; (Wu) 朆

Coordinate terms

• Template:list:earthly branches/zh

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (未):

• → Japanese: 未(み) (mi); 未(び) (bi)
• → Korean: 미(未) (mi)
• → Vietnamese: vị (未)

Others:

• → Vietnamese: Mùi

Further reading

• “Entry #1663”, in 臺灣閩南語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2023.

(deprecated template usage)

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Japanese

Kanji

未

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: み (mi, Jōyō)
• Kan-on: び (bi)
• Kun: いまだ (imada, 未だ); まだ (mada, 未だ); ひつじ (hitsuji, 未)

Compounds

• 未(み)開(かい) (mikai, “uncivilized”)
• 未(み)完(かん) (mikan, “unfinished”)
• 未(み)婚(こん) (mikon, “unmarried”)
• 未(み)熟(じゅく) (mijuku, “immature; inexperienced”)
• 未(み)遂(すい) (misui, “attempt”, at a crime)
• 未(み)成(せい)年(ねん) (miseinen, “minor”)
• 未(み)然(ぜん) (mizen, “previously”)
• 未(み)然(ぜん)形(けい) (mizenkei, “imperfective form”)
• 未(み)曾(ぞう)有(う) (mizōu), 未(み)曾(ぞ)有(う) (mizou, “unprecedented”)
• 未(み)知(ち) (michi, “strange”)
• 未(み)知(ち)数(すう) (michisū, “unknown, variable”, in mathematics)
• 未(み)定(てい) (mitei, “undecided”)
• 未(み)踏(とう) (mitō, “unexplored”)
• 未(み)納(のう) (minō, “payment default”)
• 未(み)必(ひつ)の故(こ)意(い) (mihitsu no koi, “willful negligence”)
• 未(み)亡(ぼう)人(じん) (mibōjin, “widow”)
• 未(み)満(まん) (miman, “insufficient”)
• 未(み)来(らい) (mirai, “future”)
• 未(み)了(りょう) (miryō, “unfinished”)

 

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
未
ひつじ Grade: 4
kun’yomi

From 羊 (hitsuji, “sheep”)

Pronunciation

• Homophone: 羊

Proper noun

未(ひつじ) • (Hitsuji) 

1. the Sheep, the eighth of the twelve Earthly Branches

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
未
み Grade: 4
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese 未 (mjɨj^H)

Prefix

未(み) • (mi-) 

1. un-; in- (not yet)

Proper noun

未(み) • (Mi) 

1. the Sheep, the eighth of the twelve Earthly Branches

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Korean

Hanja

未 (eum 미 (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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Vietnamese

Han character

未: Hán Nôm readings: mùi, vị

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