曖昧

See also: 暧昧

Chinese

obscure; clandestine conceal; dark
trad. (曖昧) 曖 昧
simp. (暧昧) 暧 昧

Pronunciation


Note: oi2 mui6 - common variant.

Rime
Character 曖 昧
Reading # 2/2 1/1
Initial (聲) 影 (34) 明 (4)
Final (韻) 咍 (41) 灰 (42)
Tone (調) Departing (H) Departing (H)
Openness (開合) Open Closed
Division (等) I I
Fanqie 烏代切 莫佩切
Baxter 'ojH mwojH
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang
Shangfang
/ʔʌiH/ /muʌiH/
Pan
Wuyun
/ʔəiH/ /muoiH/
Shao
Rongfen
/ʔɒiH/ /muɒiH/
Edwin
Pulleyblank
/ʔəjH/ /mwəjH/
Li
Rong
/ʔᴀiH/ /muᴀiH/
Wang
Li
/ɒiH/ /muɒiH/
Bernard
Karlgren
/ʔɑ̆iH/ /muɑ̆iH/
Expected
Mandarin
Reflex
ài mèi
Expected
Cantonese
Reflex
oi3 mui6

Adjective

曖昧

  1. (of attitude, meaning, etc.) vague; obscure; ambiguous; dubious
  2. (of relationship, behaviour, etc.) intimate but not explicit; showing fondness and interest in a relationship, albeit non-actively; amorous; flirty; flirtatious; having an affair with somebody; adulterous; illicit

Synonyms

Derived terms

  • 曖昧不明/暧昧不明
  • 曖昧之情/暧昧之情

Verb

曖昧

  1. (of a person) to maintain an ambiguous and flirtatious relationship (with someone)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (曖昧):
  • → Japanese: 曖昧(あいまい) (aimai)
  • → Korean: 애매(曖昧) (aemae)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
曖 昧
あい
Grade: S
まい
Grade: S
on’yomi goon

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 曖昧 (MC 'ajH|'ojH mwojH).

Pronunciation

Adjective

曖(あい)昧(まい) • (aimai) ←あいまい (aimai)?-na (adnominal 曖(あい)昧(まい)な (aimai na), adverbial 曖(あい)昧(まい)に (aimai ni))

  1. ambiguous, obscure, unclear, vague
    • 2007, 新時代日漢辭典/新时代日汉辞典 (Xīn Shídài Rì-hàn Cídiǎn), 1st edition, 大新書局/大新书局 (Dàxīn Shūjú), →ISBN:
      彼(かれ)は曖(あい)昧(まい)な事(こと)を言(い)った
      kare wa aimai na koto o itta
      He said some unclear things

Inflection

Synonyms

  • どっちつかず (dotchitsukazu)

Antonyms

Derived terms

Noun

曖(あい)昧(まい) • (aimai) ←あいまい (aimai)?

  1. ambiguity, obscurity, opacity

References

  1. Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 [Daijirin] (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
  2. NHK Broadcasting Culture Research Institute, editor (1998), NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 [NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary] (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK Publishing, →ISBN
  3. Yamada, Tadao et al., editors (2011), 新明解国語辞典 [Shin Meikai Kokugo Jiten] (in Japanese), Seventh edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term
曖昧

Noun

曖昧 • (aemae) (hangeul 애매)

  1. Hanja form? of 애매 (“obscurity”).
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