Skip to content
Kotomora

茗

tea

FrequencyTop 5,000Strokes9

Readings

On'yomi

  • ミョウ
  • メイ

Kun'yomi

  • ちゃ

Meaning

茗 centers on tea, specifically the young leaves or buds used for high-quality tea. It is a refined term for tea rather than an everyday word.

Most common words using 茗

  • 茗荷みょうが

    Japanese ginger (Zingiber mioga); myoga ginger; mioga ginger

  • 花茗荷はなみょうが

    peppermint stick (species of perennial evergreen, Alpinia japonica)

  • 苦茗くめい

    bitter tea; low-quality tea

  • 茗めい

    tea (esp. picked late)

  • 薮茗荷やぶみょうが

    East Asian pollia (Pollia japonica)

Explore all words using 茗 →

Study

Etymology

茗 combines 艹 (grass/plant) with 名, which likely contributes the sound. The character was created to refer specifically to tea leaves or buds.

Meaning mnemonic

The grass radical 艹 sits above 名 (name). Picture a famous name-brand tea made from the finest young leaves: 茗 is that premium tea.

Reading mnemonic

For ミョウ, imagine a tea master named Myou who carefully selects the best young leaves: Myou -> ミョウ, and his name is on every tin of this fine tea.