曖昧

See also: 暧昧

Chinese[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

Mandarin
(Pinyin): àimèi

(Zhuyin): ㄞˋ ㄇㄟˋ
Cantonese (Jyutping): oi³ mui⁶, oi² mui⁶
Southern Min
(Hokkien, POJ): ài-māi

(Teochew, Peng'im): ain³ muê⁶
Wu (Wugniu)
- (Northern): ⁵e-me

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: àimèi
  - Zhuyin: ㄞˋ ㄇㄟˋ
  - Tongyong Pinyin: àimèi
  - Wade–Giles: ai⁴-mei⁴
  - Yale: ài-mèi
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: aymey
  - Palladius: аймэй (ajmɛj)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ˀaɪ̯⁵¹⁻⁵³ meɪ̯⁵¹/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)⁺
  - Jyutping: oi³ mui⁶, oi² mui⁶
  - Yale: oi muih, ói muih
  - Cantonese Pinyin: oi³ mui⁶, oi² mui⁶
  - Guangdong Romanization: oi³ mui⁶, oi² mui⁶
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ɔːi̯³³ muːi̯²²/, /ɔːi̯³⁵ muːi̯²²/

Note: oi2 mui6 - common variant.

Southern Min
- (Hokkien)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: ài-māi
  - Tâi-lô: ài-māi
  - Phofsit Daibuun: aemai
  - IPA (Xiamen): /ai²¹⁻⁵³ mãi²²/
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /ai⁴¹⁻⁵⁵⁴ mãi⁴¹/
  - IPA (Zhangzhou): /ai²¹⁻⁵³ mãi²²/
  - IPA (Taipei): /ai¹¹⁻⁵³ mãi³³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /ai²¹⁻⁴¹ mãi³³/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: ain³ muê⁶
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: àiⁿ muĕ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /ãĩ²¹³⁻⁵⁵ mue³⁵/
Wu
- (Shanghai):
  - Wugniu: ⁵e-me
  - MiniDict: e^去 me
  - Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ²e-me
  - Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /e³³ me⁴⁴/

Middle Chinese: 'ojH mwojH

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	/ʔʌi^H/	/muʌi^H/
Pan Wuyun	/ʔəi^H/	/muoi^H/
Shao Rongfen	/ʔɒi^H/	/muɒi^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/ʔəj^H/	/mwəj^H/
Li Rong	/ʔᴀi^H/	/muᴀi^H/
Wang Li	/ɒi^H/	/muɒi^H/
Bernard Karlgren	/ʔɑ̆i^H/	/muɑ̆i^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	ài	mèi
Expected Cantonese Reflex	oi³	mui⁶

Adjective[edit]

曖昧

(of attitude, meaning, etc.) vague; obscure; ambiguous; dubious
(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
- 曖昧的矜持，其目的不是要拒人於千里之外，而是要讓他一直保持高度的進攻狀態。 [MSC, trad.]
  暧昧的矜持，其目的不是要拒人于千里之外，而是要让他一直保持高度的进攻状态。 [MSC, simp.]
  From: http://www.cnwnews.com/html/ent/cn_qakj/20101031/280165.html
  Àimèi de jīnchí, qí mùdi bùshì yào jù rén yú qiānlǐ zhīwài, érshì yào ràng tā yīzhí bǎochí gāodù de jìngōng zhuàngtài. [Pinyin]
  The purpose of having an amorous reservedness is not to keep others at miles away from yourself, but rather to keep him always chasing and courting.
- 周秀娜於新片《殭屍新戰士》內扮演入世未深的殭屍女，與蔣璐霞發展一段同性曖昧情。 [MSC, trad.]
  周秀娜于新片《僵尸新战士》内扮演入世未深的僵尸女，与蒋璐霞发展一段同性暧昧情。 [MSC, simp.]
  From: http://www.hinews.cn/news/system/2010/10/31/011384102.shtml
  Zhōu Xiùnuó yú xīnpiàn “jiāngshī xīn zhànshì” nèi bànyǎn rùshì wèi shēn de jiāngshī nǚ, yǔ Jiǎng Lùxiá fāzhǎn yī duàn tóngxìng àimèi qíng. [Pinyin]
  In the new film "Corpse: The new battling soldier", Zhou Xiuna plays the character of a young and inexperienced (revived) female corpse, who developed an amorous lesbian relationship with Jiang Luxia.

Synonyms[edit]

(vague): 暗昧 (ànmèi)

Derived terms[edit]

Verb[edit]

曖昧

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

Descendants[edit]

Sino-Xenic (曖昧):

→ Japanese: 曖昧(あいまい) (aimai)
→ Korean: 애매(曖昧) (aemae)

Japanese[edit]

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

Etymology[edit]

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

Pronunciation[edit]

(Tokyo) あいまい [àímáí] (Heiban – [0])^[1]^[2]^[3]
IPA^(key): [a̠ima̠i]

Adjective[edit]

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))

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[edit]

Inflection of 曖昧

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	曖昧だろ	あいまいだろ	aimai daro
Continuative (連用形)	曖昧で	あいまいで	aimai de
Terminal (終止形)	曖昧だ	あいまいだ	aimai da
Attributive (連体形)	曖昧な	あいまいな	aimai na
Hypothetical (仮定形)	曖昧なら	あいまいなら	aimai nara
Imperative (命令形)	曖昧であれ	あいまいであれ	aimai de are
Key constructions
Informal negative	曖昧ではない曖昧じゃない	あいまいではないあいまいじゃない	aimai de wa nai aimai ja nai
Informal past	曖昧だった	あいまいだった	aimai datta
Informal negative past	曖昧ではなかった曖昧じゃなかった	あいまいではなかったあいまいじゃなかった	aimai de wa nakatta aimai ja nakatta
Formal	曖昧です	あいまいです	aimai desu
Formal negative	曖昧ではありません曖昧じゃありません	あいまいではありませんあいまいじゃありません	aimai de wa arimasen aimai ja arimasen
Formal past	曖昧でした	あいまいでした	aimai deshita
Formal negative past	曖昧ではありませんでした曖昧じゃありませんでした	あいまいではありませんでしたあいまいじゃありませんでした	aimai de wa arimasen deshita aimai ja arimasen deshita
Conjunctive	曖昧で	あいまいで	aimai de
Conditional	曖昧なら（ば）	あいまいなら（ば）	aimai nara (ba)
Provisional	曖昧だったら	あいまいだったら	aimai dattara
Volitional	曖昧だろう	あいまいだろう	aimai darō
Adverbial	曖昧に	あいまいに	aimai ni
Degree	曖昧さ	あいまいさ	aimaisa

Classical conjugation of "曖昧なり" (ナリ活用, see Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Irrealis (未然形)	曖昧なら	あいまいなら	aimainara
Continuative (連用形)	曖昧に^[1] 曖昧なり^[2]	あいまいにあいまいなり	aimaini aimainari
Terminal (終止形)	曖昧なり	あいまいなり	aimainari
Attributive (連体形)	曖昧なる	あいまいなる	aimainaru
Realis (已然形)	曖昧なれ	あいまいなれ	aimainare
Imperative (命令形)	曖昧なれ	あいまいなれ	aimainare
Key constructions
Negative	曖昧ならず	あいまいならず	aimainarazu
Contrasting conjunction	曖昧なれど	あいまいなれど	aimainaredo
Causal conjunction	曖昧なれば	あいまいなれば	aimainareba
Conditional conjunction	曖昧ならば	あいまいならば	aimainaraba
Past tense (firsthand knowledge)	曖昧なりき	あいまいなりき	aimainariki
Past tense (secondhand knowledge)	曖昧なりけり	あいまいなりけり	aimainarikeri
Adverbial	曖昧に	あいまいに	aimaini
^[1]Without auxiliary verb. ^[2]With auxiliary verb.

Noun[edit]

曖(あい)昧(まい) • (aimai) ^{←あいまい (aimai)^?}

ambiguity, obscurity, opacity

References[edit]

^ Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN
^ 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
^ Yamada, Tadao et al., editors (2011), 新明解国語辞典 (in Japanese), Seventh edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean[edit]

Hanja in this term
曖	昧

Noun[edit]

曖昧 • (aemae) (hangeul 애매)

Hanja form^? of 애매 (“obscurity”).

[DJR-1] Matsumura, Akira, editor (2006), 大辞林 (in Japanese), Third edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[NHK-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

[SMK7-3] Yamada, Tadao et al., editors (2011), 新明解国語辞典 (in Japanese), Seventh edition, Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

[1]

[2]

[3]

曖昧

Contents

Chinese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Verb[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

Inflection[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

References[edit]

Korean[edit]

Noun[edit]

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曖昧

Chinese[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Verb[edit]

Descendants[edit]

Japanese[edit]

Etymology[edit]

Pronunciation[edit]

Adjective[edit]

Inflection[edit]

Synonyms[edit]

Antonyms[edit]

Derived terms[edit]

Noun[edit]

References[edit]

Korean[edit]

Noun[edit]

Navigation menu

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