みやび

みやび

Japanese

Alternative spelling
雅

Etymology

From Old Japanese. First cited in the Nihon Shoki of 720.[1]

Derived as the 連(れん)用(よう)形(けい) (ren'yōkei, “stem or continuative form”) of the verb みやぶ (“to be courtly, elegant, refined, high-quality”), in turn from 宮 (miya, “palace, imperial court”) + ぶ (bu, verb-forming suffix with a meaning of "to seem like, to have that quality").[1][2]

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) みやび [mìyábí] (Heiban – [0])[2]
• IPA^(key): [mʲija̠bʲi]

Adjective

みやび • (miyabi) ^{←みやび (myabi)?} -na (adnominal みやびな (miyabi na), adverbial みやびに (miyabi ni))

1. [from 720] courtly, elegant, refined, high-quality

Usage notes

Also found in the oldest sources with the -to / -taru inflection used with adjectives such as 堂々 (dōdō, “grand, stately, imposing”).

Inflection

Inflection of みやび

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	みやびだろ	miyabi daro
Continuative (連用形)	みやびで	miyabi de
Terminal (終止形)	みやびだ	miyabi da
Attributive (連体形)	みやびな	miyabi na
Hypothetical (仮定形)	みやびなら	miyabi nara
Imperative (命令形)	みやびであれ	miyabi de are
Key constructions
Informal negative	みやびではない みやびじゃない	miyabi de wa nai miyabi ja nai
Informal past	みやびだった	miyabi datta
Informal negative past	みやびではなかった みやびじゃなかった	miyabi de wa nakatta miyabi ja nakatta
Formal	みやびです	miyabi desu
Formal negative	みやびではありません みやびじゃありません	miyabi de wa arimasen miyabi ja arimasen
Formal past	みやびでした	miyabi deshita
Formal negative past	みやびではありませんでした みやびじゃありませんでした	miyabi de wa arimasen deshita miyabi ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive	みやびで	miyabi de
Conditional	みやびなら（ば）	miyabi nara (ba)
Provisional	みやびだったら	miyabi dattara
Volitional	みやびだろう	miyabi darō
Adverbial	みやびに	miyabi ni
Degree	みやびさ	miyabisa

Coordinate terms

• さとび (satobi)

Noun

みやび • (miyabi) ^{←みやび (myabi)?}

1. [from 720] courtliness, elegance, refinement, high quality

Synonyms

• 風雅(ふうが) (fūga)
• 風流(ふうりゅう) (fūryū)

References

1. 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan
2. 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN