蜜

Translingual

Han character

蜜 (Kangxi radical 142, 虫+8, 14 strokes, cangjie input 十心竹戈 (JPHI), four-corner 3013₆, composition ⿱宓虫)

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 1085, character 36
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 33143
• Dae Jaweon: page 1553, character 6
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2866, character 7
• Unihan data for U+871C

---

Chinese

simp. and trad.		蜜
alternative forms		𧖅

Glyph origin

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

	Old Chinese
泌	*mpriɡs, *priɡ, *bliɡ
秘	*mpriɡs
毖	*priɡs
閟	*priɡs
柲	*priɡs, *bliːɡ, *priɡ, *bliɡ
鉍	*priɡs, *priɡ
邲	*priɡs, *bliɡ, *briɡ
覕	*pliŋs, *mbliːɡ
咇	*bliːɡ, *priɡ, *bliɡ
苾	*bliːɡ, *bliɡ
馝	*bliːɡ, *bliɡ
飶	*bliːɡ, *bliɡ
鴓	*mbliːɡ
鮅	*pliɡ, *bliɡ
必	*pliɡ
珌	*pliɡ
佖	*bliɡ, *briɡ
駜	*bliɡ, *briɡ
怭	*bliɡ
妼	*bliɡ
宓	*mriɡ, *mliɡ
樒	*mriɡ
密	*mriɡ
蔤	*mriɡ
滵	*mriɡ
蜜	*mliɡ
謐	*mliɡ
榓	*mliɡ
淧	*mliɡ
瑟	*smriɡ, *smriɡ
璱	*sriɡ
飋	*sriɡ
虙	*blɯɡ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mliɡ) : phonetic 宓 (OC *mriɡ, *mliɡ) + semantic 虫 (“insect”).

Etymology

Possibly from Proto-Tocharian *ḿətə, from Proto-Indo-European *médʰu (“mead”). Compare Tocharian B mit (“honey”).

Sense “mistress, young girl” is additionally a phono-semantic matching of English miss.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): mì (mi⁴)

  (Zhuyin): ㄇㄧˋ

  (Chengdu, Sichuanese Pinyin): mi²

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mat⁶
• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): me̍t
• Northern Min (KCR): mĭ
• Eastern Min (BUC): mĭk
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): bi̍t

  (Teochew, Peng'im): bhig⁸ / mig⁸

• Wu (Shanghai, Wugniu): ⁵miq

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: mì
    • Zhuyin: ㄇㄧˋ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: mì
    • Wade–Giles: mi⁴
    • Yale: mì
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: mih
    • Palladius: ми (mi)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mi⁵¹/
  • (Chengdu)
    • Sichuanese Pinyin: mi²
    • Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: mi
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mi²¹/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: mat⁶
    • Yale: maht
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mat⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: med⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɐt̚²/
• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Meinong)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: me̍t
    • Hakka Romanization System: med
    • Hagfa Pinyim: med⁶
    • Sinological IPA: /met̚⁵/
• Northern Min
  • (Jian'ou)
    • Kienning Colloquial Romanized: mĭ
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mi²⁴/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: mĭk
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /miʔ⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bi̍t
    • Tâi-lô: bi̍t
    • Phofsit Daibuun: bit
    • IPA (Xiamen): /bit̚⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /bit̚²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /bit̚¹²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /bit̚⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /bit̚⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: bhig⁸ / mig⁸
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: bi̍k / mi̍k
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /bik̚⁴/, /mik̚⁴/

Note:

• bhig8 - vernacular;
• mig8 - literary.

• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁵miq
    • MiniDict: 'mih^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²'miq
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /miɪʔ³⁴/

---

• Middle Chinese: mjit

Rime
Character	蜜
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	明 (4)
Final (韻)	質 (48)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	彌畢切
Baxter	mjit
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/miɪt̚/
Pan Wuyun	/mit̚/
Shao Rongfen	/mjet̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/mit̚/
Li Rong	/miĕt̚/
Wang Li	/mĭĕt̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/mi̯ĕt̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	mì
Expected Cantonese Reflex	mat6

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*mit/

  (Zhengzhang): /*mliɡ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	蜜
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	mì
Middle Chinese	‹ mjit ›
Old Chinese	/*mit/
English	honey
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	蜜
Reading #	1/1
No.	594
Phonetic component	必
Rime group	質
Rime subdivision	2
Corresponding MC rime	蜜
Old Chinese	/*mliɡ/

Definitions

(deprecated template usage) 蜜

1. honey

   蜂蜜  ―  fēngmì  ―  honey

   蜜蜂  ―  mìfēng  ―  honeybee

2. the colour of honey; honey-coloured

   蜜色  ―  mìsè  ―  colour of honey

3. beeswax

   蜜燭／蜜烛  ―  mìzhú  ―  candle

4. sweet

   甜蜜  ―  tiánmì  ―  sweet, happy

   水蜜桃  ―  shuǐmìtáo  ―  honey peach

   甜言蜜語／甜言蜜语  ―  tiányánmìyǔ  ―  sweet words and honeyed phrases; cajolery

5. mistress, young girl

   小蜜  ―  xiǎomì  ―  mistress

   閨蜜／闺蜜  ―  guīmì  ―  female friend (of female)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (蜜):

• → Japanese: 蜜(みつ) (mitsu)
• → Okinawan: 蜜(みち) (michi)
• → Korean: 밀(蜜) (mil)
• → Vietnamese: mật (蜜)

Compounds

(deprecated template usage)

---

Japanese

Kanji

蜜

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

• Go-on: みつ (mitsu, Jōyō); みち (michi)
• Kan-on: びつ (bitsu)

Compounds

• 波(は)羅(ら)蜜(みつ) (haramitsu), 波(は)羅(ら)蜜(みっ)多(た) (haramitta, “perfection, completeness”, in Buddhism)

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
蜜
みつ Grade: S
goon

/mitɨ/ → /mitʉ/ → /mit͡su/

From Middle Chinese 蜜 (MC mjit).

Noun

蜜(みつ) • (mitsu) 

1. honey
2. nectar
3. molasses, treacle, syrup

   Synonym: 糖蜜 (tōmitsu)

4. Short for 蜜砂糖 (mitsuzatō): brown sugar

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 蜜(みつ)砂(ざ)糖(とう) (mitsuzatō)
• 蜜腺(みつせん) (mitsusen)
• 蜜蜂(みつばち) (mitsubachi)
• 蜜蝋(みつろう) (mitsurō)
• 餡蜜(あんみつ) (anmitsu)
• 黒蜜(くろみつ) (kuromitsu)
• 氷(こおり)蜜(みつ) (kōrimitsu, “finely ground rock candy cooked with egg white, mixed with cold water as a beverage”)
• 砂(さ)糖(とう)蜜(みつ) (satō mitsu, “sugar syrup”)
• 白蜜(しろみつ) (shiromitsu, “light-colored honey”)
• 石蜜(せきみつ) (sekimitsu, “crystallized honey; rock candy”)
• 酥(そ)蜜(みつ), 蘇(そ)蜜(みつ) (somitsu, “mixture of butter fat and honey, used medicinally or as a sweetener”)
• 蜂蜜(はちみつ) (hachimitsu)

Affix

蜜(みつ) • (mitsu) 

1. honey, nectar
2. sweet
3. Used in Sanskrit transliterations

Derived terms

Derived terms

• 蜜(ミ)柑(カン) (mikan)
• 蜜月(みつげつ) (mitsugetsu)
• 蜜(みつ)語(ご) (mitsugo)
• 花(か)蜜(みつ) (kamitsu)
• 水密桃(すいみつとう) (suimitsutō, “large kind of peach originally from China, with soft, sweet, juicy flesh”)
• 糖蜜(とうみつ) (tōmitsu)

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
蜜
みち Grade: S
goon

/mitɨ/ → /mit͡ɕi/

Alternative reading of mitsu above.

Noun

蜜(みち) • (michi) 

1. (rare) Same as みつ (mitsu) above

Usage notes

Only used on its own. Not used in compounds.

---

Korean

Hanja

蜜 • (mil) (hangeul 밀, revised mil, McCune–Reischauer mil, Yale mil)

1. (꿀 밀, kkul): honey

---

Okinawan

Kanji

蜜

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

• On (unclassified): みち (michi)

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 蜜 (MC mjit).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mit͡ɕi/

Noun

蜜 (hiragana みち, romaji michi)

1. honey

---

Vietnamese

Han character

(deprecated template usage) 蜜 (mật)

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