妹

Glyph origin
.

Etymology
Probably. Proposed etymologies:
 * STEDT relates it to 🇨🇬, whence 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬.
 * compares it to 🇨🇬 (whence, ), 🇨🇬, 🇨🇬, and also 🇨🇬 (> 🇨🇬), which STEDT relates to 🇨🇬 instead.

Definitions

 * 1) younger sister
 * 2) girl; young female
 * 3)  daughter

Etymology 1
→ * →

From. First cited in the  of 712.

Speculatively, may be related to terms such as, , and , wherein the medial appears to signify. However, the difference in vowel values presents a difficulty.

Noun

 * 1)  a close female companion
 * 2) one's sister regardless of age difference
 * 3) one's lover or sweetheart who is the subject of marriage or is already married
 * 4)  a close female companion
 * 1)  a close female companion
 * 1)  a close female companion

Etymology 2
→ → * →

Originally a compound of 🇰🇲. First cited in  of the early 900s.

This is an instance of, found in terms with bilabial consonants followed by i; commonly seen in terms such as , , or possibly,.

Noun

 * 1) one's own younger sister
 * 2) the wife of one's younger brother; one's sister-in-law
 * 3) a younger female
 * 4)  one's sister regardless of age difference
 * 1) the wife of one's younger brother; one's sister-in-law
 * 2) a younger female
 * 3)  one's sister regardless of age difference
 * 1) a younger female
 * 2)  one's sister regardless of age difference
 * 1)  one's sister regardless of age difference


 * 1)  younger sister

Etymology 3
Analyzed as a shortening of imōto, itself a compound 🇰🇲.

Appears in , written around the mid-12th century. May be much older, as this reading is also included in kun'yomi glosses for the  of 720 (although the manuscripts with the glosses themselves are not as old).

Proper noun

 * 1) a placename

Etymology 4
From.

Etymology 1
Speculatively, may be related to terms such as, , and , wherein the medial appears to signify. However, the difference in vowel values presents a difficulty.

Noun

 * 1) said from a male speaker:
 * 2) one's sister regardless of age difference
 * , text here
 * 1) one's lover or sweetheart who is the subject of marriage or is already married
 * , text here
 * 1) said from a female speaker:
 * 2) a close female companion
 * , text here
 * 1) one's sister regardless of age difference
 * 2) a daughter
 * 1) one's sister regardless of age difference
 * 2) a daughter
 * 1) a daughter

Etymology 2
Shortening of imo1, due possibly to poetic reasons, haplology, or a reduction of vowel clusters to avoid hiatus, which was phonologically prohibited in Old Japanese. This hiatus avoidance is also seen in, which would otherwise have been wa ga imo1.

Noun

 * , text here
 * , text here

Etymology 3
Eastern dialectal variant of imo1.

Noun

 * , text here
 * , text here