まめ

まめに〈動どう詞し〉to do something diligently/regularly without fail
彼かれはまめに手て紙がみを書かく。
He diligently writes letters on a regular basis.
まめな性せい格かくa diligent, hardworking personality
彼かの女じょはまめな性せい格かくで、いつも部屋へやを片かた付づけている。
She has a diligent personality and always keeps her room tidy.
〈事こと〉をまめにするto keep up with something diligently/regularly
掃そう除じをまめにする。
I clean up diligently on a regular basis.

Kanji

忠loyalty, fidelity, faithfulness
実reality, truth, seed

Related words

勤きん勉べんN1sense 1
勤勉 is a more formal, written term for diligence, while まめ describes steady, everyday hardworking behavior in casual speech.
忠ちゅう実じつN2sense 3
忠実 is the modern word for being faithful or loyal, while まめ used in this sense is old-fashioned and rarely heard today.
誠せい実じつN1sense 3
誠実 means sincere and honest in modern Japanese, while まめ meaning faithful is dated and has largely been replaced by 誠実 or 忠実.
元げん気きN5sense 2
元気 is the standard modern word for being healthy and well, whereas まめ in this sense is an old-fashioned usage.
健けん康こうN4sense 2
健康 is the common modern term for physical health, while まめ meaning healthy is a dated way of saying the same thing.

Opposites

無ぶ精しょう sense 1
不精 describes someone lazy or reluctant to make an effort, the opposite of まめ's diligent, hardworking nature.

Don't confuse with

豆まめN3
豆 (beans) shares the exact same reading as まめ but is an unrelated noun for the food, not the adjective meaning diligent.

Word family

忠実まめやか
sincere; faithful; honest
まめまめしい
diligent; hardworking; conscientious

Written forms

まめUsage49%
Standard modern spelling; usually written in kana.
マメUsage51%
kana-only spelling
Katakana spelling is sometimes used for emphasis or in casual writing.
忠実まめ
Kanji spelling is rare and mostly historical; the word is usually written in kana. This form may be confused with 忠実 read ちゅうじつ.

Etymology

The historical derivation is uncertain. The kanji 忠実 is an ateji-like assignment for the native Japanese word まめ, but the word itself is of native origin.