弥
all the more, increasingly
Readings
On'yomi
- ミ
- ビ
Kun'yomi
- や
- いや
- いよ.いよ
- わた.る
Nanori
- わたる
- みつ
- ひろ
- よ
Meaning
弥 centers on a sense of growing extent or intensity: something becoming more so, spreading further, or passing through time and space. The core idea is progression and increase, as in 'all the more' or 'increasingly'.
Most common words using 弥
20 of 45- 弥いや
more and more; increasingly
- 弥生やよい
third month of the lunar calendar
- 阿弥陀あみだ
Amitabha (Buddha); Amida
- 南無阿弥陀仏なむあみだぶつ
Namu Amida Butsu; Hail Amitabha Buddha; Homage to Amida Buddha
- 弥勒みろく
Maitreya (Bodhisattva); Miroku
- 阿弥陀如来あみだにょらい
Amitabha Tathagata; Amithaba
- 沙弥しゃみ
male Buddhist novice
- 弥勒菩薩みろくぼさつ
Maitreya (Bodhisattva); Miroku
- 弥栄いやさか
prosperity; prospering; flourishing
- 元の木阿弥もとのもくあみ
ending up right back where one started
- 阿弥陀堂あみだどう
temple hall containing an enshrined image of Amitabha
- 大阪府立弥生文化博物館おおさかふりつやよいぶんかはくぶつかん
Osaka Prefectural Museum of Yayoi Culture
- 天皇弥栄すめらぎいやさか
prosperity to the emperor
- 弥久びきゅう
extending over a long time
- 弥助やすけ
sushi
- 弥勒仏みろくぶつ
Maitreya (Bodhisattva)
- 弥増さるいやまさる
to become still greater
- 弥従兄弟いやいとこ
second cousin
- 弥明後日やなあさって
three days from today
- 弥明後日やのあさって
three days from today
Study
Etymology
弥 is the modern simplified form of 彌. The older form combines 弓 (bow) with 爾, which likely contributed the sound and carried a sense of fullness or extension. The modern simplification replaces the right side with 尔.
Meaning mnemonic
The left side is a bow (弓), and the right side (尔) looks like a person stretching. Imagine drawing a bow further and further back, increasing the tension all the more.
Reading mnemonic
For ミ, picture a bowstring being pulled back more and more until it goes 'me' (like the sound of a tight string vibrating). The 'me' sound cues ミ while the bow stretches increasingly.