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踏み迷う (ふみまよう) Japanese meaning | Kotomora

踏ふみ迷まよう

ふ

み

ま

よ

う

Meanings

1

godan verb (-u), intransitive verb

lose one's way; go astray

Literary or slightly old-fashioned intransitive verb for physically losing one's way while walking, or figuratively straying from the right path.

深ふかい森もりの中なかで踏ふみ迷まよってしまった。
I lost my way deep in the forest.
人じん生せいの道みちに

踏ふ

み

迷まよ

う

こと

も

ある

。

One may sometimes go astray on the path of life.

Written forms

踏ふみ迷まようUsage90%
Standard kanji spelling; the verb is not usually written in kana.
ふみまようUsage10%

Kanji

踏step, trample, carry through
迷astray, be perplexed, in doubt

Similar words

迷まよう
A common, everyday verb for being lost or indecisive. 踏み迷う adds a literary, walking-specific nuance.
道みちに迷まよう
The standard phrase for 'to lose one's way'. 踏み迷う is more poetic and less common in modern speech.

Etymology

Compound of 踏み (fumi, 'stepping', continuative form of 踏む) and 迷う (mayou, 'to lose one's way'). The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the combination naturally yields the meaning 'to lose one's way while walking'.