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曖昧

简暧昧 · 繁曖昧

Mandarin · pinyin ài mèi

vague
ambiguous
equivocal
dubious

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Characters in this entry

曖: Look up this written character
昧: mèi · obscure, dark; darken
暧: ài · obscure, dim, ambiguous, vague

Written characters and their own readings; the entry’s pronunciation is shown above.

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Mandarin tones

4–4 · ai4 mei4

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Read this spelling in Classical texts

Follow a written form into the eight pinned witnesses: Analects, Mencius, Laozi, Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Han Feizi, Sunzi and the Mao Shijing. A match is a place to investigate; it does not prove that a modern dictionary sense fits the passage.

曖昧 · find source passages ↗ · 暧昧 · find source passages ↗

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Compare dictionary sources Wiktionary · 4 senses · 1 Cantonese reading

Rime Cantonese 粵拼

oi2 mui6

Cantonese word readings for 曖昧. This lexicon supplies readings, not definitions.

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Wiktionary English definitions · Chinese section

Independent source senses for this spelling, with usage labels retained. Not matched to the pronunciation above.

adj

(formal or literary; of attitude, meaning, etc.) vague; obscure; ambiguous
(of relationship, behaviour, etc.) dubious; shady; (sometimes, of relationship) adulterous; illicit
(of relationship, behaviour, etc.) intimate but not explicit; showing fondness and interest in a romantic relationship, but not making the romantic intentions clear; amorous; flirty; flirtatious

verb

(of a person) to maintain an ambiguous and flirtatious relationship (with someone)

Source page · dump 2026-09-02 · Contributors & history

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