蜜

蜜	U+871C, 蜜 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-871C

← 蜛
[U+871B]

CJK Unified Ideographs

蜝 →
[U+871D]

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: 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, 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, SP): mi²
Cantonese (Jyutping): mat⁶
Hakka
(Sixian, PFS): me̍t
(Meixian, Guangdong): mêd⁶
Jin (Wiktionary): mieh⁴
Min Bei (KCR): mĭ
Min Dong (BUC): mĭk
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): bi̍t
(Teochew, Peng'im): bhig⁸ / mig⁸
Wu (Wiktionary): miq (T5)

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)⁺
  - 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/
- (Meixian)
  - Guangdong: mêd⁶
  - Sinological IPA: /mɛt̚⁵/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: mieh⁴
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /miəʔ²/
Min Bei
- (Jian'ou)
  - Kienning Colloquial Romanized: mĭ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /mi²⁴/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: mĭk
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /miʔ⁵/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Xiamen, Quanzhou, Zhangzhou, Jinjiang, General Taiwanese)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bi̍t
  - Tâi-lô: bi̍t
  - Phofsit Daibuun: bit
  - IPA (Xiamen, Taipei, Kaohsiung): /bit̚⁴/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /bit̚¹²¹/
  - IPA (Quanzhou, Jinjiang): /bit̚²⁴/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: bhig⁸ / mig⁸
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: bi̍k / mi̍k
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /bik̚⁴/, /mik̚⁴/

Note:

bhig8 - vernacular;
mig8 - literary.

Wu
- (Shanghainese)
  - Wiktionary: miq (T5)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /mi̯ɪʔ¹²/

Middle Chinese: /miɪt̚/

Rime
Character	蜜
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	明 (4)
Final (韻)	眞 (48)
Tone (調)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	彌畢切
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

蜜

honey
蜂蜜 ― fēngmì ― honey
蜜蜂 ― mìfēng ― honeybee
- 以色列啊，你要聽，要謹守遵行，使你可以在那流奶與蜜之地得以享福，人數極其增多，正如耶和華——你列祖的神所應許你的。 [MSC, trad.]
  以色列啊，你要听，要谨守遵行，使你可以在那流奶与蜜之地得以享福，人数极其增多，正如耶和华——你列祖的神所应许你的。 [MSC, simp.]
  From: 新標點和合本 (Chinese Union Version with New Punctuation), 申命記 (Deuteronomy) 6:3
  Yǐsèliè a, nǐ yào tīng, yào jǐnshǒu zūnxíng, shǐ nǐ kěyǐ zài nà liú nǎi yǔ mì zhī dì déyǐ xiǎngfú, rénshù jíqí zēngduō, zhèngrú Yēhéhuá — nǐ lièzǔ de Shén suǒ yīngxǔ nǐ de. [Pinyin]
  Hear therefore, O Israel, and observe to do it; that it may be well with thee, and that ye may increase mightily, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath promised thee, in the land that floweth with milk and honey.
- 逃生艙　內裡學種花　蜜會遇上蜂 [Literary Cantonese, trad.]
  逃生舱　内里学种花　蜜会遇上蜂 [Literary Cantonese, simp.]
  From: 2021, 張天賦, lyrics by 林寶, Good Time
  tou⁴ sang¹ cong¹, noi⁶ leoi⁵ hok⁶ zung³ faa¹, mat⁶ wui⁵ jyu⁶ soeng⁵ fung¹ [Jyutping]
  In the survival capsule, [you] learn to plant flowers, the honey will meet the bee
the colour of honey; honey-coloured
蜜色 ― mìsè ― colour of honey
beeswax
蜜燭／蜜烛 ― mìzhú ― candle
(dialectal Cantonese) bee; honeybee
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
mistress, young girl
小蜜 ― xiǎomì ― mistress
閨蜜／闺蜜 ― guīmì ― female friend (of female)

Synonyms

Dialectal synonyms of 蜂蜜 (“honey”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		蜜
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		蜂蜜
Mandarin	Beijing	蜂蜜
	Taiwan	蜂蜜
	Jinan	蜂蜜, 蜜
	Xi'an	蜂蜜, 蜂糖
	Wuhan	蜂蜜
	Chengdu	蜂糖, 蜂蜜
	Guilin	蜂蜜
	Yangzhou	蜂蜜, 蜜
	Hefei	蜂蜜
	Malaysia	蜂蜜, 蜜糖
	Singapore	蜂蜜, 蜜糖
Cantonese	Guangzhou	蜜糖
	Hong Kong	蜜糖
	Taishan	蜜糖
	Yangjiang	蜜糖
Gan	Nanchang	蜜糖, 蜜
Hakka	Meixian	蜂糖
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	蜂糖
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	蜂糖
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	蜂糖
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	蜂糖
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	蜂糖
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	蜂糖
Jin	Taiyuan	蜂蜜, 蜜
Min Bei	Jian'ou	蜂糖
Min Dong	Fuzhou	蜂蜜, 蜜
Min Nan	Xiamen	蜂蜜, 蜜
	Quanzhou	蜂蜜, 蜜
	Zhangzhou	蜂蜜, 蜜
	Taipei	蜂蜜, 蜜
	Penang (Hokkien)	蜜糖
	Chaozhou	蜂蜜
Puxian Min	Putian	冬蜜
	Putian (Donghai)	蜂蜜
	Putian (Jiangkou)	冬蜜
	Putian (Nanri)	蜂蜜, 冬蜜
	Xianyou	蜂蜜, 冬蜜
	Xianyou (Fengting)	蜂蜜
	Xianyou (Youyang)	蜂蜜
Wu	Shanghai	蜜糖
	Suzhou	蜜糖, 蜜
	Wenzhou	蜜, 蜂蜜
Xiang	Changsha	蜜糖
Xiang	Shuangfeng	蜂糖, 蜜糖

Dialectal synonyms of 蜜蜂 (“honeybee”) [map]

Variety	Location	Words edit
Classical Chinese		蜜蜂, 蠟蜂
Formal (Written Standard Chinese)		蜜蜂
Taxonomic name		蜜蜂
Mandarin	Beijing	蜜蜂
	Taiwan	蜜蜂
	Langfang	蜜蜂兒
	Tangshan	蜜蜂
	Cangzhou	蜜蜂
	Baoding	蜜蜂兒
	Shijiazhuang	蜜蜂
	Daming	蜜蜂
	Ulanhot	蜜蜂
	Tongliao	蜜蜂
	Chifeng	蜜蜂
	Bayanhot	蜜蜂
	Hulunbuir (Hailar)	蜜蜂
	Harbin	蜜蜂兒
	Shenyang	蜜蜂
	Yantai (Muping)	蜜蜂兒, 蜜蜂子, 蜜蜂
	Jinan	蜜蜂
	Luoyang	蜜蜂兒, 蜂兒
	Wanrong	蜜蜂, 蜂
	Zhengzhou	蜜蜂
	Xi'an	蜜蜂兒, 蜜蜂, 蜂
	Yinchuan	蜜蜂
	Lanzhou	蜂兒
	Xining	蜜蜂兒, 蜜蜂
	Ürümqi	蜜蜂
	Wuhan	蜂子, 蜜蜂
	Huanggang	蜂子
	Chengdu	蜂子, 蜜蜂
	Guiyang	蜜蜂
	Kunming	蜜蜂
	Guilin	蜜蜂
	Pingle	蜜蜂
	Liuzhou	蜜蜂
	Luzhai	蜜蜂
	Xuzhou	蜂子
	Yangzhou	蜜蜂
	Hefei	蜜蜂
	Singapore	蜜蜂
	Sokuluk (Gansu Dungan)	蜜蜂兒, 蜜蜂子, 蜂兒
	Masanchin (Shaanxi Dungan)	蜜蜂
Cantonese	Guangzhou	蜜蜂
	Hong Kong	蜜蜂
	Hong Kong (San Tin Weitou)	蜜仔
	Hong Kong (Kam Tin Weitou)	蜜
	Hong Kong (Ting Kok)	蜜仔
	Hong Kong (Tung Ping Chau)	蜜仔
	Macau	蜜蜂
	Guangzhou (Panyu)	蜜蜂
	Guangzhou (Huashan, Huadu)	蜜蜂
	Guangzhou (Conghua)	蜜仔
	Guangzhou (Zengcheng)	蜜仔
	Foshan	蜜蜂
	Foshan (Shatou, Nanhai)	蜜蜂
	Foshan (Shunde)	蜜蜂
	Foshan (Sanshui)	蜜蜂
	Foshan (Mingcheng, Gaoming)	蜜蜂
	Zhongshan (Shiqi)	蜜蜂
	Zhuhai (Qianshan)	蜜蜂
	Zhuhai (Doumen, Shangheng Tanka)	蜜蜂
	Zhuhai (Doumen)	蜜蜂
	Jiangmen (Baisha)	蜜蜂
	Jiangmen (Xinhui)	蜜蜂
	Taishan	蜜蜂
	Kaiping (Chikan)	蜜蜂
	Enping (Niujiang)	蜜蜂
	Heshan (Yayao)	蜜蜂
	Dongguan	蜜蜂
	Shenzhen (Shajing, Bao'an)	蜜蜂
	Qingyuan	蜜蜂
	Fogang	蜜仔
	Yingde (Hanguang)	蜜蜂
	Yangshan	蜜蜂
	Lianshan (Butian)	蜜蜂
	Lianzhou (Qingshui Sihui)	蜜蜂
	Shaoguan	蜜蜂
	Shaoguan (Qujiang)	蜜蜂
	Renhua	蜜仔
	Lechang	蜜蜂
	Zhaoqing (Gaoyao)	蜜蜂
	Sihui	蜜蜂
	Guangning	蜜仔
	Deqing	蜜蜂
	Huaiji	蜜蜂
	Fengkai (Nanfeng)	蜜, 蜜蜂
	Yunfu	蜜仔
	Xinxing	蜜仔
	Luoding	蜜蜂
	Yunan (Pingtai)	蜜蜂
	Yangjiang	蜜蜂
	Xinyi	蜜蜂
	Lianjiang	蜜蜂
	Nanning	蜜蜂
	Wuzhou	蜜蜂
	Yulin	蜜蜂
	Hepu (Lianzhou)	糖蜂
	Kuala Lumpur (Guangfu)	蜜蜂, 蜜仔
	Singapore (Guangfu)	蜜蜂
	Ho Chi Minh City (Guangfu)	蜜蜂
Gan	Nanchang	蜜蜂
	Lichuan	蜜蜂
	Pingxiang	蜂子
Hakka	Meixian	糖蜂仔, 蜂仔, 蜜蜂
	Huizhou (Huicheng Bendihua)	禾蜂
	Dongguan (Qingxi)	蜜仔
	Shenzhen (Shatoujiao)	黃蜂
	Zengcheng (Zhengguo)	蜜仔
	Zhongshan (Wuguishan)	蜜子
	Zhongshan (Nanlang Heshui)	蜜子
	Wuhua (Shuizhai)	蜂哩
	Wuhua (Huacheng)	蜂哩
	Wuhua (Changbu)	蜂哩
	Wuhua (Mianyang)	蜂哩
	Conghua (Lütian)	蜜蜂
	Jiexi	糖蜂
	Luhe	蜂仔
	Wuping	糖蜂子
	Yudu	蜂子
	Miaoli (N. Sixian)	糖蜂仔
	Pingtung (Neipu; S. Sixian)	糖蜂仔, 蜂仔
	Hsinchu County (Zhudong; Hailu)	糖蜂仔
	Taichung (Dongshi; Dabu)	糖蜂, 蜂
	Hsinchu County (Qionglin; Raoping)	糖蜂仔, 蜂仔, 糖蜂
	Yunlin (Lunbei; Zhao'an)	蜜蜂, 蜂
	Hong Kong	蜜仔
	Luchuan (Daqiao)	糖蜂
	Sabah (Longchuan)	蜜仔
	Senai (Huiyang)	蜜蜂
	Sungai Tapang, Batu Kawa (Hepo)	蜂
	Singkawang	蜂
Huizhou	Jixi	蜂
Huizhou	Tunxi	蜜蜂
Jin	Taiyuan	蜜蜂
	Pingyao	蜜蠅兒
	Taibus (Baochang)	蜜蜂
	Linhe	蜜蜂
	Jining	蜜蜂
	Hohhot	蜜蜂
	Baotou	蜜蜂
	Dongsheng	蜂兒
	Haibowan	蜂兒
	Zhangjiakou	蜜蜂兒
	Handan	蜜蜂兒
Min Bei	Jian'ou	蜂, 糖蜂, 蜜蜂
Min Bei	Wuyishan	蜂仔
Min Dong	Fuzhou	蜜蜂, 蜂
	Fuqing	蜜蜂
	Matsu	蜂
Min Nan	Xiamen	蜜蜂
	Quanzhou	蜜蜂
	Zhangzhou	蜜蜂
	Zhao'an	蜜蜂
	Dongshan	蜜蜂
	Taipei	蜜蜂
	New Taipei (Sanxia)	蜜蜂
	Kaohsiung	蜜蜂, 蜂
	Yilan	蜂
	Changhua (Lukang)	蜂
	Taichung	蜂
	Taichung (Wuqi)	蜂
	Tainan	蜂
	Taitung	蜂
	Hsinchu	蜂
	Kinmen	蜂, 蜜蜂
	Penghu (Magong)	蜂
	Penang (Hokkien)	蜜蜂
	Singapore (Hokkien)	蜜蜂
	Manila (Hokkien)	蜜蜂
	Zhangping (Yongfu)	糖蜂仔
	Datian	糖蜂
	Pingnan (Shangdu)	蜜蜂
	Chaozhou	蜂
	Shantou	蜜蜂, 蜂
	Jieyang	蜂
	Haifeng	蜜蜂
	Bangkok (Teochew)	蜜蜂
	Johor Bahru (Teochew)	蜜蜂
	Pontianak (Teochew)	蜂
	Leizhou	糖蜂, 蜂
	Wenchang	蜂
	Haikou	糖蜂, 蜂
Puxian Min	Putian	蜂
Puxian Min	Xianyou	蜂
Min Zhong	Yong'an	糖蜂
	Sanyuan	糖蜂
	Shaxian	糖蜂
Zhongshan Min	Shaxi (Longdu)	蜜蜂
Zhongshan Min	Sanxiang	蜜蜂
Southern Pinghua	Nanning (Tingzi)	蜜蜂
Northern Pinghua	Guilin (Dahe)	蜜蜂
Shehua	Fu'an	蜂仔
	Fuding	蜜蜂
	Luoyuan	蜜蜂
	Sanming	糖蜂
	Shunchang	蜂仔
	Hua'an	蜜蜂
	Guixi (Zhangping)	糖蜂
	Cangnan	蜂
	Jingning	蜂
	Lishui	蜜蜂
	Longyou	蜂
	Chaozhou	蜂
	Fengshun	蜂
Waxiang	Guzhang (Gaofeng)	蜂子
Wu	Shanghai	蜜蜂
	Shanghai (Chongming)	蜜蜂
	Suzhou	蜜蜂
	Wuxi	蜜蜂
	Danyang	蜜蜂
	Hangzhou	蜜蜂
	Ningbo	蜜蜂
	Wenzhou	蜜蜂
	Jinhua	蜜蜂, 蜂
Xiang	Changsha	蜜蜂子, 蜜蜂
	Loudi	蜜蜂
	Shuangfeng	蜜蜂
	Quanzhou	蜜蜂

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (蜜):

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

Compounds

Derived terms from 蜜

乖唇蜜舌
仙草蜜
刀蜜
刺蜜
口甜如蜜
呾蜜
山蜜
崖蜜
度蜜月
木蜜
朱蜜
松蜜
柔情蜜意
梨花蜜
水蜜桃 (shuǐmìtáo)
然蜜
甘蜜 (gānmì)
甜嘴蜜舌
甜甜蜜蜜 (tiántiánmìmì)
甜蜜 (tiánmì)
甜蜜蜜
白蜜
石蜜
穴蜜
糖舌蜜口
糖蜜 (tángmì)
花甜蜜嘴
花甜蜜就
花蜜 (huāmì)
虎井蜜 (hó͘-chíⁿ-bi̍t)
蜂蜜 (fēngmì)
蜜丁
蜜丸
蜜丸子
蜜人 (mìrén)
蜜供
蜜勿
蜜印
蜜合色
蜜唧
蜜官
蜜房
蜜月 (mìyuè)
蜜杏

蜜林檎
蜜果
蜜果冰
蜜柑 (mìgān)
蜜橘
蜜橙糕 (mìchénggāo)
蜜殊
蜜母
蜜水 (mìshuǐ)
蜜汁 (mìzhī)
蜜源
蜜滓
蜜炬
蜜煎
蜜煎煎
蜜父
蜜瓜 (mìguā)
蜜甘
蜜甜
蜜的支
蜜章
蜜筒
蜜糕
蜜糖 (mìtáng)
蜜翁翁
蜜脾
蜜腺
蜜色
蜜草
蜜荔枝
蜜藕
蜜蜂 (mìfēng)
蜜蜜甜
蜜蝍
蜜豆冰
蜜酒
蜜醴
蜜露
蜜食
蜜香
酥蜜
刀頭蜜／刀头蜜
口蜜腹劍／口蜜腹剑 (kǒumìfùjiàn)
搖蜜／摇蜜

樹蜜／树蜜
檜花蜜／桧花蜜
波羅蜜／波罗蜜 (bōluómì)
溫情蜜意／温情蜜意
煉蜜／炼蜜
營蜜／营蜜
甜言蜜語／甜言蜜语 (tiányánmìyǔ)
菠蘿蜜／菠萝蜜 (bōluómì)
蜜不齒蜂／蜜不齿蜂
蜜口劍腹／蜜口剑腹
蜜戀／蜜恋
蜜棗／蜜枣 (mìzǎo)
蜜漬／蜜渍
蜜漿／蜜浆
蜜燭／蜜烛
蜜璽／蜜玺
蜜筩／蜜筒
蜜罐兒／蜜罐儿 (mìguànr)
蜜蘇／蜜苏
蜜蜂窩／蜜蜂窝
蜜蟲／蜜虫
蜜蟻／蜜蚁
蜜蠟／蜜蜡 (mìlà)
蜜裡藏刀／蜜里藏刀
蜜裡調油／蜜里调油
蜜語甜言／蜜语甜言
蜜課／蜜课
蜜雲龍／蜜云龙
蜜餅／蜜饼
蜜餌／蜜饵 (mì'ěr)
蜜餞／蜜饯 (mìjiàn)
蜜香樹／蜜香树
蜜香紙／蜜香纸
蜜麵／蜜面
蠟蜜／蜡蜜
課蜜／课蜜
護蜜／护蜜
釀蜜／酿蜜 (niàngmì)
飴蜜／饴蜜
餳蜜／饧蜜
鸞蜂蜜／鸾蜂蜜
麨蜜／𪎊蜜
黃花蜜菜／黄花蜜菜

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 miɪt̚).

Pronunciation

On’yomi: Goon

(Tokyo) みつ [míꜜtsù] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
IPA^(key): [mʲit͡sɨᵝ]

Noun

蜜(みつ) • (mitsu)

honey
nectar
molasses, treacle, syrup
Synonym: 糖蜜 (tōmitsu)
Short for 蜜砂糖 (mitsuzatō): brown sugar

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)

honey, nectar
sweet
Used in Sanskrit transliterations

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.

Pronunciation

On’yomi: Goon

(Tokyo) みち [míꜜchì] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
IPA^(key): [mʲit͡ɕi]

Noun

蜜(みち) • (michi)

(rare) Same as みつ (mitsu) above

Usage notes

Only used on its own. Not used in compounds.

References

2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 蜜 (MC miɪt̚). See the Hangul entry at 밀 (mil, “beeswax”) for the etymology concerning the “beeswax” sense.

Historical Readings
Dongguk Jeongun Reading
Dongguk Jeongun, 1448	미ᇙ〮 (Yale: mílq)
Middle Korean
Text	Eumhun
Text	*Gloss (hun)*	Reading
Hunmong Jahoe, 1527	ᄭᅮᆯ〮 (Yale: skwúl)	밀〮 (Yale: míl)

Pronunciation

(honey):
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [miɭ]
- Phonetic hangul: [밀]
(beeswax):
- (SK Standard/Seoul) IPA^(key): [mi(ː)ɭ]
- Phonetic hangul: [밀(ː)]
  - Though still prescribed in Standard Korean, most speakers in both Koreas no longer distinguish vowel length.

Hanja

Wikisource蜜 (eumhun 꿀 밀 (kkul mil))

Hanja form^? of 밀 (“beeswax”). [noun]
Hanja form^? of 밀 (“honey”). [affix]

Compounds

구밀복검 (口蜜腹劍, gumilbokgeom)
당밀 (糖蜜, dangmil)
밀감 (蜜柑, milgam)
밀랍 (蜜蠟, millap)
밀봉 (蜜蜂, milbong)
밀월 (蜜月, mirwol)
밀주 (蜜酒, milju)
봉밀 (蜂蜜, bongmil)
화밀 (花蜜, hwamil)

References

국제퇴계학회 대구경북지부 (國際退溪學會大邱慶北支部) (2007). Digital Hanja Dictionary, 전자사전／電子字典.

Okinawan

Kanji

蜜

(common “Jōyō” kanji)

Readings

On: みち (michi)

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 蜜 (MC miɪt̚).

Pronunciation

IPA^(key): /mit͡ɕi/

Noun

蜜 (hiragana みち, romaji michi)

honey

Vietnamese

Hán tự in this term
蜜

Han character

蜜: Hán Nôm readings: mật

Noun

蜜

chữ Hán form of mật (“honey”).

[DJR-1] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN