noun
Archaic term for a soul, spirit, or divine spirit. In modern Japanese, this meaning is mostly preserved in compounds or classical contexts.
古事記には、神が宿る山の話がある。
In the Kojiki, there is a story of a mountain where a divine spirit dwells.
古歌では神を「み」と読むことがある。
In old poems, 神 is sometimes read as み.
The modern common word for god, deity, or spirit. み is its archaic counterpart, now mostly found in classical texts or set phrases.
The standard modern word for soul or spirit. み is an older, more restricted term.
The historical derivation is uncertain; み is an ancient native Japanese word for spirit or divine essence, later largely replaced by かみ.