梅

梅 U+FA44, 梅 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-FA44 ← 暑 CJK Compatibility Ideographs 海 →

梅 U+2F8E2, 梅 CJK COMPATIBILITY IDEOGRAPH-2F8E2 ← 桒 CJK Compatibility Ideographs Supplement 𣑭 →

Translingual

Wikimedia Commons has more media related to: 梅

Alternative forms

In Chinese, Korean and Vietnamese scripts, the right side component is written 每 (contains 母 with 2 dots). In Japanese shinjitai, the component is simplified to 毎 (contains 毋 with a single middle stroke). Due to Han unification, both characters (梅/梅) are encoded under the same Unicode codepoint. A CJK compatibility ideograph (U+FA44) exists for the kyūjitai form of 梅.

Han character

梅 (Kangxi radical 75, 木+7 in Chinese, 木+6 in Japanese, 11 strokes in Chinese, 10 strokes in Japanese, cangjie input 木人田卜 (DOWY), four-corner 4895₇, composition ⿰木每(GHTKV) or ⿰木毎(J))

Derived characters

• 𠻽, 𡠫, 䔦, 𫂚

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 528, character 8
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14795
• Dae Jaweon: page 916, character 23
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1215, character 13
• Unihan data for U+6885

• Unihan data for U+FA44

• Unihan data for U+2F8E2

Chinese

Wikipedia has articles on:

• 梅姓 (Written Standard Chinese^?)
• 梅氏 (Cantonese)
• Mûi (sèⁿ) (Southern Min)

Glyph origin

Phono-semantic compound (形聲／形声, OC *mɯː) : semantic 木 (“tree”) + phonetic 每 (OC *mɯːʔ).

Etymology

Seemingly related to Old Japanese 梅 (ume₂) (Shibatani, 1990; Miyake, 1997; apud Schuessler, 2007) (which was possibly borrowed from Middle Chinese). Its origin is unknown (Schuessler, 2007); its referent, prunus mume, originated around the Yangtze River, now in south China yet initially outside the Chinese civilization's cradle in the Central Plain.

Pronunciation

Definitions

梅

1. Prunus mume (Chinese plum or Japanese apricot)

   話梅／话梅  ―  huàméi  ―  li hing mui

   烏梅／乌梅  ―  wūméi  ―  smoked plum

2. (in compounds) A plant sharing similarities with Prunus mume in habit, flowers or fruits

   蠟梅／蜡梅  ―  làméi  ―  Chimonanthus praecox

   茶梅  ―  cháméi  ―  Camellia sasanqua

   楊梅／杨梅  ―  yángméi  ―  Myrica rubra

   西梅  ―  xīméi  ―  Prunus domestica

3. (obsolete) Alternative name for 楠 (nán, “Machilus nanmu”).
4. Short for 梅雨 (méiyǔ).
5. Short for 梅州 (Méizhōu).
6. a surname

   梅光達 [Cantonese, trad.]
   梅光达 [Cantonese, simp.]

   mui⁴ gwong¹ daat⁶

   Mei Quong Tart (merchant)

   梅艷芳 [Cantonese, trad.]
   梅艳芳 [Cantonese, simp.]

   mui⁴ jim⁶ fong¹

   Anita Mui (singer)

Descendants

• → Malay: boi

Others:

• →? Old Japanese: 梅 (ume₂)
  • Japanese: 梅(うめ) (ume), 梅(むめ) (mume)
• → Vietnamese: mơ

Compounds

References

• “梅”, in 漢語多功能字庫 (Multi-function Chinese Character Database)‎, 香港中文大學 (the Chinese University of Hong Kong), 2014–

Japanese

Shinjitai	梅
Kyūjitai	梅 梅 or 梅+︀?
	梅󠄀 梅+󠄀? (Adobe-Japan1)
	梅󠄃 梅+󠄃? (Hanyo-Denshi) (Moji_Joho)
The displayed kanji may be different from the image due to your environment. See here for details.

Kanji

(grade 4 “Kyōiku” kanji, shinjitai kanji, kyūjitai form 梅)

Readings

• Go-on: まい (mai)^{←まい (mai, historical)}; め (me)^{←め (me, historical)}
• Kan-on: ばい (bai, Jōyō)^{←ばい (bai, historical)}
• Kun: うめ (ume, 梅, Jōyō)
• Nanori: め (me)

Compounds

Etymology 1

Japanese Wikipedia has an article on:

ウメ

Wikipedia ^ja

English Wikipedia has an article on:

Prunus mume

Wikipedia

⟨me₂⟩ → */mːəɨ/ → *⟨mume₂⟩ → ⟨ume₂⟩ → */uməɨ/ → /ume/

From Old Japanese.

Probably ultimately from Middle Chinese 梅 (MC mwoj), with the borrowed me reading gaining a pronounced kind of initial m- sound, perhaps realized as *mme. The phonetic spelling was often rendered as むめ (*mme, mume) from the Heian period, with *mme/mume and ume apparently existing in free variation. The reading eventually settled on うめ (ume). Compare the similar pattern of phonetic shift for 馬 (ma → *mma → muma → uma, “horse”), likely from Middle Chinese 馬 (MC maeX).

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) うめ (Heiban – )
• IPA^(key):

Noun

梅(うめ) or 梅(ウメ) • (ume) 

1. Japanese plum or apricot, Prunus mume
2. a white plum blossom, as opposed to 紅梅 (kōbai, “red plum blossom”)

   Synonym: 白梅 (hakubai)

3. the lowest of a three-level rank system
4. a 家紋 (kamon, “family crest”) with varying designs of plum blossoms
5. Short for 梅襲 (ume-gasane): a style of layering garments with dark crimson on the front and light crimson on the back
6. (card games) the suit of plum blossoms in 花札 (hanafuda), representing the month of February

   Coordinate terms: 松, 梅, 桜, 藤, 菖蒲, 牡丹, 萩, 芒, 菊, 紅葉, 柳, 桐

7. (historical, colloquial) Synonym of 天神 (tenjin): the second-highest ranked prostitute in Edo-period Kamigata, below the 大夫 (tayū)

Usage notes

• As with many terms that name organisms, this term is often spelled in katakana, especially in biological contexts (where katakana is customary), as ウメ.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:梅.

Derived terms

Proverbs

• 桜(さくら)切(き)る馬(ば)鹿(か)梅(うめ)切(き)らぬ馬(ば)鹿(か) (sakura kiru baka ume kiranu baka)

Coordinate terms

• 松(しょう)竹(ちく)梅(ばい) (shōchikubai, three-level ranking system): 松(まつ) (matsu, “pine”, the top rank), 竹(たけ) (take, “bamboo”, the middle rank), 梅(うめ) (ume, “plum”, the lowest rank)

Descendants

• English: ume

See also

• 李(スモモ) (sumomo), 酸(ス)桃(モモ) (sumomo)

Proper noun

梅(うめ) • (Ume) 

1. a female given name
2. a surname

Etymology 2

⟨me₂⟩ → */mːəɨ/ → *⟨mume₂⟩ → /mume/

Possibly from Old Japanese.

This reading becomes common during the Heian period, later falling into disuse.

Superseded by the ume reading above.

Noun

梅(むめ) • (mume) 

1. (archaic, obsolete) the Japanese plum or apricot, Prunus mume

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:梅.

Derived terms

• 唐(から)梅(むめ) (karamume)

Descendants

• → Translingual: mume

Etymology 3

From a later borrowing of Middle Chinese 梅 (MC mwoj).

Noun

梅(ばい) • (bai) 

1. (usually in Chinese contexts) the Japanese plum or apricot, Prunus mume
2. (historical, colloquial) Synonym of 天神 (tenjin): the second-highest ranked prostitute in Edo-period Kamigata, below the 大夫 (tayū)

Affix

梅(ばい) • (bai) 

1. plum
2. Short for 梅雨 (baiu): East Asian rainy season
3. Short for 梅毒 (baidoku): syphilis

Derived terms

Proper noun

梅(ばい) • (Bai) 

1. a surname

References

Korean

Etymology

From Middle Chinese 梅 (MC mwoj). Recorded as Middle Korean ᄆᆡ (moy) (Yale: moy) in Hunmong Jahoe (訓蒙字會 / 훈몽자회), 1527.

Hanja

Korean Wikisource has texts containing the hanja:

梅

Wikisource

梅 (eumhun 매화나무 매 (maehwanamu mae))

1. Hanja form^? of 매 (“Prunus mume, a fruit tree”).
2. Hanja form^? of 매 (“plum blossom, a blossom of this tree”).
3. Hanja form^? of 매 (“a Korean surname”).

Compounds

References

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

Old Japanese

Etymology

Possibly a shift from Middle Chinese 梅 (MC mwoj).

Noun

梅 (ume₂) (kana うめ)

1. the Japanese plum or apricot, Prunus mume

Usage notes

• Also used phonetically as 借音 (shakuon) for ⟨me₂⟩.

Quotations

For quotations using this term, see Citations:梅.

Descendants

• Japanese: 梅(うめ) (ume), 梅(むめ) (mume)

References

Vietnamese

Han character

梅: Hán Nôm readings: mai

1. rattan

Compounds

• 梅花 (mai hoa, “red avadavat; red munia; strawberry finch”)