梅雨

Chinese

		plum flower	rain
simp. and trad. (梅雨)		梅	雨
alt. forms		霉雨
Literally: “plum rain”.

Etymology

Refers to the plums ripening during this rainy season.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): méiyǔ

  (Zhuyin): ㄇㄟˊ ㄩˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mui⁴ jyu⁵
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): mòi-yí
• Min Nan (POJ): mûi-ú / bôe-í

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)
    • Pinyin: méiyǔ
    • Zhuyin: ㄇㄟˊ ㄩˇ
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: meiyeu
    • IPA ^(key): /meɪ̯³⁵ y²¹⁴⁻²¹⁽⁴⁾/
    • Homophones:

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      edit edit 梅雨 眉宇

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
    • Jyutping: mui⁴ jyu⁵
    • Yale: mùih yúh
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mui⁴ jy⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: mui⁴ yu⁵
    • IPA ^(key): /muːi̯²¹ jyː¹³/
• Hakka
  • (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: mòi-yí
    • Hakka Romanization System: moiˇ i`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: moi<sup>2</sup> yi<sup>3</sup>
    • IPA: /mo̯i¹¹ i³¹/
  • (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: mòi-yí
    • Hakka Romanization System: moiˇ (r)i`
    • Hagfa Pinyim: moi² yi³
    • IPA: /mo̯i¹¹ (j)i³¹/
• Min Nan
  • (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, mainstream Taiwanese)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: mûi-ú
    • Tâi-lô: muî-ú
    • Phofsit Daibuun: mui'uo
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /muĩ²³⁻³³ u⁴¹/
    • IPA (Xiamen): /muĩ²⁴⁻²² u⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /muĩ²⁴⁻²² u⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Taipei): /muĩ²⁴⁻¹¹ u⁵³/
  • (Hokkien: Zhangzhou)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bôe-í
    • Tâi-lô: buê-í
    • Phofsit Daibuun: boe'ie
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /bue¹³⁻²² i⁵³/

Noun

梅雨

1. East Asian rainy season

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Japanese

Kanji in this term
梅	雨
Grade: 4	Grade: 1
Irregular

Etymology 1

Unclear. Likely theories include:

• May be cognate with Old Japanese-derived noun 露 (tsuyu, “dew, dewdrop”), from the way the rainy season causes everything to be covered in drops that may look like dew. However, the pitch accent differs, as 露 has patterns 1 or 2, while 梅雨 has pattern 0.
• Alternatively, may be cognate with Old Japanese-derived verb 熟ゆ (tsuyu, “to become ripe”, obsolete, replaced by modern form 熟える tsueru), as plums ripen during the rainy season. In light of the pitch accent, this derivation appears more likely.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) つゆ [tsùyú] (Heiban – [0])
• IPA^(key): [t͡sɨᵝjɯ̟ᵝ]

Noun

梅雨 (hiragana つゆ, rōmaji tsuyu)

1. East Asian rainy season

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
梅	雨
ばい Grade: 4	う Grade: 1
on’yomi

From Middle Chinese compound 梅雨 (literally “plum + rain”), in poetic reference to the season when plums grow.

Alternatively, the 黴雨 spelling may have been the original spelling. This is homophonous in Middle Chinese, and literally means mold + rain, in reference to how moldy things get during this season of constant humidity.

Pronunciation

• On’yomi: Kan’on
  • (Tokyo) ば​いう [báꜜìù] (Atamadaka – [1])
  • IPA^(key): [ba̠iɯ̟ᵝ]

Alternative forms

• 黴雨

Noun

梅雨 (hiragana ばいう, rōmaji baiu)

1. East Asian rainy season

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Korean

Hanja in this term
梅	雨

Noun

梅雨 • (mae-u) (hangeul 매우)

1. Hanja form^? of 매우, “East Asian rainy season”.

Synonyms

• 장마