まみれ

also: まぶれ

Meanings

covered with; stained with; smeared with

usually written using kana alone

Noun suffix attached to a noun indicating a substance, meaning 'covered all over with that substance', often with a negative or messy connotation. Common with 血, 泥, 汗, ほこり, etc.

彼かれは血ちまみれの手てでドアを開あけた。
He opened the door with blood-stained hands.
子こ供どもたちは泥どろまみれになって遊あそんでいた。
The children were playing, getting covered in mud.

Grammar

まみれcaked in; covered all over inN1

Kanji

塗paint, plaster, daub

Related words

みどろ
Both みどろ and まみれ attach to nouns to mean 'covered with', but みどろ specifically suggests a wet, sticky, or messy coating (as in 血みどろ), while まみれ is more general and common (ほこりまみれ 'covered in dust').
だらけN1
だらけ is used broadly for being full of or riddled with undesirable things (穴だらけ, 借金だらけ), while まみれ specifically describes a sticky or messy substance covering a surface (血まみれ, 泥まみれ).

Word family

まみれる
be smeared; be covered in; be plastered with

Written forms

まみれUsage98%
Kana spelling is standard; the kanji form 塗れ is rare and may not be recognized by all readers.
塗れUsage2%
- まみれ
  Kanji form; rarely used in modern writing. The kana spelling is strongly preferred.
- まぶれ
  out-dated reading
まぶれ
out-dated reading
Obsolete kana variant; not used in contemporary Japanese.

Etymology

Derived from the verb 塗れる (まみれる), meaning 'to be smeared' or 'to be covered with'. The suffix form まみれ is a noun form used in compounds.