mu
Contents
- 1 English
- 2 Asturian
- 3 Czech
- 4 Extremaduran
- 5 French
- 6 Hanga Hundi
- 7 Ikobi-Mena
- 8 Indonesian
- 9 Italian
- 10 Japanese
- 11 Jurchen
- 12 Kituba
- 13 Kom (Cameroon)
- 14 Malay
- 15 Mandarin
- 16 Northern Sami
- 17 Polish
- 18 Portuguese
- 19 Scottish Gaelic
- 20 Serbo-Croatian
- 21 Spanish
- 22 Swedish
- 23 Turkish
- 24 Tzotzil
- 25 Vietnamese
- 26 Volapük
English[edit]
← lambda |
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Ancient Greek: μῦ | ||
Wikipedia article on mu |
Etymology 1[edit]
From Ancient Greek μῦ (mû).
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
mu (countable and uncountable, plural mus)
- The 12th letter of the Modern Greek alphabet.
Derived terms[edit]
Translations[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
From Japanese 無 (mu, “nothing, neither yes nor no”)
Pronunciation[edit]
Interjection[edit]
mu
- (Zen Buddhism) Neither yes nor no.
- 1974, Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:
- Mu means "no thing." Like "Quality" it points outside the process of dualistic discrimination. Mu simply says, "No class; not one, not zero, not yes, not no." [...] It's a great mistake, a kind of dishonesty, to sweep nature's mu answers under the carpet.
- 1979, Douglas Hofstadter, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid:
- Achilles: Oh, but MU is Jōshū’s answer. By saying MU, Jōshū let the other monk know that only by not asking such questions can one know the answer to them.
Tortoise: Jōshū “unasked” the question. […]
Achilles: […] And the answer of “MU” here rejects the premises of the question, which are that one or the other must be chosen.
- Achilles: Oh, but MU is Jōshū’s answer. By saying MU, Jōshū let the other monk know that only by not asking such questions can one know the answer to them.
- 1996, Dan Simmons, "Looking for Kelly Dahl", The Year's Best Science Fiction, page 424:
- "Mu," said Kelly Dahl.
- On one level mu means only yes, but on a deeper level of Zen it was often used by the master when the acolyte asked a stupid, unanswerable or wrongheaded question such as "Does a dog have the Buddha-nature?" The Master would answer only, "Mu," meaning—I say "yes" but mean "no," but the actual answer is: Unask the question.
- 2002, Norman Waddell and Masao Abe, The Heart of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō, page 72:
- The Fifth Patriarch's utterance You say mu [Buddha-nature] because Buddha-nature is emptiness articulates clearly and distinctly the truth that emptiness is not "no". In uttering Buddha-nature-emptiness one does not say "half a pound." One does not say "eight ounces." One says "mu."
- 2010, Joan Price, Sacred Scriptures of the World Religions, page 70:
- A monk once asked Master Joshu, 'Has a dog the Buddha Nature or not?' Joshu said, 'Mu!'
- 1974, Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:
Noun[edit]
mu (uncountable)
- (Zen Buddhism) Nothingness; nonexistence; the illusory nature of reality.
- 2012, Omori, Introduction To Zen Training, →ISBN, page 115:
- That being the case, we should naturally choose to contemplate mu from morning to night, forgetting everything.
- 2012, Dr Robert Wilkinson, Nishida and Western Philosophy, →ISBN:
- Consequently, though mu is mindlike, the likeness to individual consciousness cannot be pushed very far.
- 2013, Sean Murphy & Natalie Goldberg, One Bird, One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories, →ISBN, page xvii:
- The monk posed to Chaoi-chou a question: Does a dog have a buddha nature or not?" Chao-chou, without a moment's hesitation, answered, “Mu." (Translated as "No.")
- 2013, Maura O'Halloran, Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind, →ISBN:
- If mu is mind, consciousness, it is nothing.
Usage notes[edit]
Used to answer a question that if answered with "yes" or "no" would imply something false.
Etymology 3[edit]
Noun[edit]
mu (plural mu)
- A unit of surface area, currently equivalent to 666 and 2/3 meters squared.
- 2007 — Chang Liu, “Peasants and Revolution in Rural China: Rural Political Change in the North China Plain and the Yangzi Delta, 1850-1949”, page 87
- Of 114 village farming families, only ten had more than 30 mu of land and only five had more than 60 mu.
- 2007 — Chang Liu, “Peasants and Revolution in Rural China: Rural Political Change in the North China Plain and the Yangzi Delta, 1850-1949”, page 87
Anagrams[edit]
Asturian[edit]
Interjection[edit]
mu
- moo (sound made by a cow or bull)
Czech[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Audio (file)
Pronoun[edit]
mu
- Singular dative masculine of on
- Řekni mu, že jím. - Tell him, I am eating.
Synonyms[edit]
Extremaduran[edit]
Adverb[edit]
mu
See also[edit]
French[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
mu m (plural mu)
- mu (Greek letter)
Further reading[edit]
- “mu” in le Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).
Hanga Hundi[edit]
Noun[edit]
mu
- (a) crocodile
Further reading[edit]
Ikobi-Mena[edit]
Noun[edit]
mu (Mena), mụ (Ikobi)
References[edit]
- Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67
Indonesian[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Malay mu, shortened form of kamu, from Proto-Malayic *kamu(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)kamu, *kamiu, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)kamu, *kamiu.
Pronunciation[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
mu
Italian[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- Rhymes: -u
Noun[edit]
mu m, f (invariable)
- The name of the letter M
Japanese[edit]
Romanization[edit]
mu
Jurchen[edit]
Noun[edit]
mu (transliteration needed)
References[edit]
- Gisaburō Norikura Kiyose, A Study of the Jurchen Language and Script: Reconstruction and Decipherment (1977)
Kituba[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
mu
Kom (Cameroon)[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Noun[edit]
mu
Etymology 2[edit]
Adjective[edit]
mu
References[edit]
- Randy Jones, Provisional Kom - English lexicon (2001, Yaoundé, Cameroon)
Malay[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Shortened form of kamu, from Proto-Malayic *kamu(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)kamu, *kamiu, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)kamu, *kamiu.
Pronunciation[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
mu
See also[edit]
Mandarin[edit]
Romanization[edit]
mu
Usage notes[edit]
- English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.
Northern Sami[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
mū
- accusative and genitive of mun
Polish[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
mu
- Dative singular mute form of on.
See also[edit]
Portuguese[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- Rhymes: -u
Etymology 1[edit]
Noun[edit]
mu m (plural mus)
Synonyms[edit]
Etymology 2[edit]
Alternative forms[edit]
Interjection[edit]
mu
- moo (the call of a cow)
Scottish Gaelic[edit]
Etymology[edit]
From Old Irish imb (compare Irish um), from Proto-Celtic *ambi (compare Welsh am), from Proto-Indo-European *h₂m̥bʰi (“round about, around”). Cognate with Latin ambi-, Sanskrit अभि (abhí, “towards, over, upon”), Old Persian 𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎹 (abiy, “towards, against, upon”), Old High German umbi, Ancient Greek ἀμφί (amphí, “about, around”) and the first part of Old Armenian ամբ-ողջ (amb-ołǰ, “whole”).
Preposition[edit]
mu
- about, around
- Bha craobhan mu ghàrradh an taighe. ― There were trees around the house's yard.
- about, concerning
- Bha sinn a' bruidhinn mu làithean san sgoil againn. ― We were talking about our days at school.
- about, approximately
- Bidh a' chuairt a' toirt mu thrì uairean. ― The trip will take about three hours.
Usage notes[edit]
- Lenites the following word.
Derived terms[edit]
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|
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- The following prepositional pronouns:
Person | Number | Prepositional pronoun | Prepositional pronoun (emphatic) |
---|---|---|---|
Singular | 1st | umam | umamsa |
2nd | umad | umadsa | |
3rd m | uime | uimesan | |
3rd f | uimpe | uimpese | |
Plural | 1st | umainn | umainne |
2nd | umaibh | umaibhse | |
3rd | umpa | umpasan |
Serbo-Croatian[edit]
Pronoun[edit]
mu (Cyrillic spelling му)
Declension[edit]
Singular | Plural | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | Masculine | Feminine | Neuter | |
nominative | ȏn | òna | òno | òni | òne | òna |
genitive | njȅga, ga | njȇ, je | njȅga, ga | njȋh, ih | njȋh, ih | njȋh, ih |
dative | njȅmu, mu | njȏj, joj | njȅmu, mu | njȉma, im | njȉma, im | njȉma, im |
accusative | njȅga, ga, nj | njȗ, ju, je, nju | njȅga, ga, nj | njȋh, ih | njȋh, ih | njȋh, ih |
vocative | - | - | - | - | - | - |
locative | njȅm, njȅmu | njȏj | njȅm, njȅmu | njȉma | njȉma | njȉma |
instrumental | njȋm, njíme | njȏm, njóme | njȋm, njíme | njȉma | njȉma | njȉma |
Spanish[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- Rhymes: -u
Noun[edit]
mu f (plural múes)
Synonyms[edit]
Swedish[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
- Rhymes: -ʉː
Interjection[edit]
mu
Noun[edit]
mu n
See also[edit]
Turkish[edit]
Particle[edit]
mu
- Used to form interrogatives.
- Ona bu soruyu sordun mu?
- Did you ask him/her this question?
- Mutlu musun?
- Are you happy?
- Pikniğe gitmiyor muyuz?
- Aren't we going for a picnic?
- Ona bu soruyu sordun mu?
Usage notes[edit]
- Personal suffixes are added to the interrogative particles, as well as the past tense suffixes.
- This form is used when the last vowel of the previous word is "o" or "u". Other forms used with different vowels are: mı?, mi? and mü?
Tzotzil[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Etymology 1[edit]
Adjective[edit]
mu
Etymology 2[edit]
Particle[edit]
mu
Synonyms[edit]
Derived terms[edit]
(particles)
References[edit]
- “mu(1)”, “mu(2)” in Laughlin, Robert M. (1975) The Great Tzotzil Dictionary of San Lorenzo Zinacantán. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
- Laughlin, Robert M. [et al.] (1988) The Great Tzotzil Dictionary of Santo Domingo Zinacantán, vol. I. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
Vietnamese[edit]
Pronunciation[edit]
Noun[edit]
mu
Volapük[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Borrowed from Spanish muy (“very”).
Adverb[edit]
mu
- English terms derived from Ancient Greek
- English 1-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English terms with homophones
- English terms with audio links
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- English terms derived from Japanese
- English interjections
- en:Buddhism
- English terms derived from Mandarin
- English two-letter words
- en:Greek letter names
- Asturian lemmas
- Asturian interjections
- Czech terms with audio links
- Czech lemmas
- Czech pronouns
- Extremaduran lemmas
- Extremaduran adverbs
- French 1-syllable words
- French terms with IPA pronunciation
- French lemmas
- French nouns
- French masculine nouns
- French countable nouns
- fr:Greek letter names
- Hanga Hundi lemmas
- Hanga Hundi nouns
- Ikobi-Mena lemmas
- Ikobi-Mena nouns
- Indonesian terms derived from Malay
- Indonesian terms derived from Proto-Malayic
- Indonesian terms derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian
- Indonesian terms derived from Proto-Austronesian
- Indonesian terms with IPA pronunciation
- Indonesian lemmas
- Indonesian pronouns
- Italian lemmas
- Italian nouns
- Japanese non-lemma forms
- Japanese romanizations
- Jurchen lemmas
- Jurchen nouns
- Kituba lemmas
- Kituba pronouns
- Kom (Cameroon) lemmas
- Kom (Cameroon) nouns
- Kom (Cameroon) adjectives
- Malay terms derived from Proto-Malayic
- Malay terms derived from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian
- Malay terms derived from Proto-Austronesian
- Malay terms with IPA pronunciation
- Malay lemmas
- Malay pronouns
- Mandarin non-lemma forms
- Mandarin pinyin
- Mandarin nonstandard forms
- Northern Sami terms with IPA pronunciation
- Northern Sami 1-syllable words
- Northern Sami non-lemma forms
- Northern Sami pronoun forms
- Polish terms with IPA pronunciation
- Polish non-lemma forms
- Polish pronoun forms
- Portuguese terms derived from Latin
- Portuguese lemmas
- Portuguese nouns
- Portuguese onomatopoeias
- Portuguese interjections
- Portuguese terms with multiple etymologies
- Scottish Gaelic terms inherited from Old Irish
- Scottish Gaelic terms derived from Old Irish
- Scottish Gaelic terms inherited from Proto-Celtic
- Scottish Gaelic terms derived from Proto-Celtic
- Scottish Gaelic terms inherited from Proto-Indo-European
- Scottish Gaelic terms derived from Proto-Indo-European
- Scottish Gaelic lemmas
- Scottish Gaelic prepositions
- Scottish Gaelic terms with usage examples
- Serbo-Croatian lemmas
- Serbo-Croatian pronouns
- Spanish lemmas
- Spanish nouns
- Swedish lemmas
- Swedish interjections
- Turkish lemmas
- Turkish particles
- Tzotzil terms with IPA pronunciation
- Tzotzil lemmas
- Tzotzil adjectives
- Tzotzil particles
- Vietnamese terms with IPA pronunciation
- Vietnamese lemmas
- Vietnamese nouns
- Volapük terms borrowed from Spanish
- Volapük terms derived from Spanish
- Volapük lemmas
- Volapük adverbs