Originally written as 無, which is a pictograph of a person dancing, with ox tails or bird feathers hanging from his arms, to pray for rain. The 舛 (two feet) component was later added to emphasize the action of dancing after 無 was phonetically borrowed for different meanings.
Components
無 Phonetic component
nothing
Depicts a person dancing with ox tails or bird feathers hanging from his arms.
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Historical Evolution
舞
Oracle
(~1250-1000 BC)
舞
Oracle
(~1250-1000 BC)
舞
Oracle
(~1250-1000 BC)
舞
Bronze
Early Western Zhou (~1000 BC)
舞
Bronze
Late Spring and Autumn (~500 BC)
舞
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
舞
Seal
Shuowen (~100 AD)
舞
Clerical
Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
舞
Clerical
Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
舞
Clerical
Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
舞
Regular
Modern
Chinese
舞 [wǔ]
to dance; to wield; to brandish
Japanese
dancing; dance
Example Sentences
Japanese Names
舞 ふわり
Fuwari female given name
舞 まい
Mai female given namesurname
舞 まいん
Main female given name
舞 まう
Mau female given name
舞 まのい
Manoi female given name
舞 まゆ
Mayu female given name
舞 めぐる
Meguru female given name
CHINESE WORDS (174)
舞台 [wǔtái] #1,457
stage
舞台 [wǔtái] #1,457
stage
舞蹈 [wǔdǎo] #1,062
dance (performance art)
跳舞 [tiàowǔ] #897
to dance
舞会 [wǔhuì] #1,505
dance
舞会 [wǔhuì] #1,505
dance
鼓舞 [gǔwǔ] #7,186
heartening (news)
歌舞 [gēwǔ] #9,172
singing and dancing
独舞 [dúwǔ] #3,376
solo dance
独舞 [dúwǔ] #3,376
solo dance
164 more
items
JAPANESE WORDS (200)
⭐ 舞台 [ぶたい] #2,225
stage (of a theatre, concert hall, etc.)
⭐ 舞う [まう] #3,233
to dance (orig. a whirling dance)
⭐ 振舞う [ふるまう] #4,397
to behave
舞い上がる [まいあがる] #5,611
to soar
お見舞い [おみまい] #5,889
visit (to someone affected by illness or misfortune)
⭐ 振る舞い [ふるまい] #6,399
behavior
⭐ 見舞う [みまう] #7,064
to visit and comfort or console
⭐ 舞 [まい] #8,497
dancing
⭐ 見舞い [みまい] #9,581
visit (to someone affected by illness or misfortune)
舞踏会 [ぶとうかい] #10,530
ball
190 more
items