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Definition 2024


Translingual

Han character

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

References

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

Chinese

simp. and trad.

Glyph origin

Characters in the same phonetic series () (Zhengzhang, 2003) 
Old Chinese
*mpriɡs, *priɡ, *bliɡ
*mpriɡs
*priɡs
*priɡs
*priɡs, *bliːɡ, *priɡ, *bliɡ
*priɡs, *priɡ
*priɡs, *bliɡ, *briɡ
*pliŋs, *mbliːɡ
*bliːɡ, *priɡ, *bliɡ
*bliːɡ, *bliɡ
*bliːɡ, *bliɡ
*bliːɡ, *bliɡ
*mbliːɡ
*pliɡ, *bliɡ
*pliɡ
*pliɡ
*bliɡ, *briɡ
*bliɡ, *briɡ
*bliɡ
*bliɡ
*mriɡ, *mliɡ
*mriɡ
*mriɡ
*mriɡ
*mriɡ
*mliɡ
*mliɡ
*mliɡ
*mliɡ
*smriɡ, *smriɡ
*sriɡ
*sriɡ
*blɯɡ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲, OC *mliɡ) : phonetic  (OC *mriɡ, *mliɡ) + semantic  (small insect).

Etymology

From Proto-Tocharian *ḿət(ə), 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



Rime
Character
Reading # 1/1
Initial () (4)
Final () (48)
Tone (調) Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合) Open
Division () III
Fanqie
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
Baxter-Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character
Reading # 1/1
Modern
Beijing
(Pinyin)
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
Reading # 1/1
No. 594
Phonetic
component
Rime
group
Rime
subdivision
2
Corresponding
MC rime
Old
Chinese
/*mliɡ/

Definitions

  1. honey
       fēng   honey
       fēng   honeybee
  2. the colour of honey; honey-coloured
          colour of honey
  3. beeswax
    /    zhú   candle
  4. sweet
       tián   sweet, happy
       shuǐtáo   honey peach
    甜言 / 甜言   tiányán   sweet words and honeyed phrases; cajolery
  5. mistress, young girl
       xiǎo   mistress
    /    guī   girlfriend (of female)

Compounds

  • 蜂蜜 (fēngmì)
  • 蜜丸子
  • 蜜供
  • 蜜房
  • 蜜月 (mìyuè)
  • 蜜月期
  • 蜜月橋牌蜜月桥牌
  • 蜜林檎
  • 蜜果冰
  • 蜜柑 (mìgān)
  • 蜜棗蜜枣
  • 蜜橘
  • 蜜橙糕
  • 蜜水
  • 蜜源
  • 蜜煎
  • 蜜筒
  • 蜜糕
  • 蜜罐兒蜜罐儿
  • 蜜腺
  • 蜜色
  • 蜜蜂 (mìfēng)
  • 蜜蟻蜜蚁
  • 蜜蠟蜜蜡 (mìlà)
  • 蜜裡調油蜜里调油
  • 蜜豆冰
  • 蜜酒
  • 蜜餞蜜饯 (mìjiàn)
  • 蜜餞砒霜蜜饯砒霜 (mìjiànpīshuāng)
  • 蜜香
  • 釀蜜酿蜜
  • 黃花蜜菜黄花蜜菜

Japanese

Kanji

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

  1. honey; nectar; molasses

Readings

Etymology 1

Kanji in this term
みつ
Grade: S
on'yomi

From Middle Chinese (*mjit), from Late Old Chinese *mjit ~ *mit, from Proto-Tocharian *ḿət(ə). Compare Tocharian B mit (honey)), from Proto-Indo-European *médʰu (mead).

Pronunciation

Noun

(hiragana みつ, romaji mitsu)

  1. honey
  2. nectar
  3. molasses, treacle, syrup
  4. short for 蜜砂糖 (mitsuzatō): brown sugar
Derived terms

Etymology 2

Kanji in this term
みち
Grade: S
on'yomi

Alternate reading of mitsu above.

Pronunciation

Noun

(hiragana みち, romaji michi)

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

Only used on its own. Not used in compounds.

References

  1. 1 2 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9

Korean

Hanja

(mil) (hangeul , revised mil, McCune-Reischauer mil, Yale mil)

  1. ( 밀, kkul): honey

Vietnamese

Han character

(mật)

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