Chinese

Noun

梅雨

1. East Asian rainy season

References

• East Asian rainy season on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Japanese

Etymology 1

Unclear. Likely theories include:

• May be cognate with Old Japanese-derived noun 露 ‎(tsuyu, “dew, dewdrop”), from the way the rainy season causes everything to be covered in drops that may look like dew.
• Alternatively, may be cognate with Old Japanese-derived verb 熟ゆ ‎(tsuyu, “to become ripe”, obsolete, replaced by modern form 熟える tsueru), as plums ripen during the rainy season.

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) つゆ [tsùyú] (Heiban - [0])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [t͡sɯᵝjɯᵝ]

Noun

梅雨 ‎(hiragana つゆ, romaji tsuyu)

1. East Asian rainy season

Etymology 2

From Middle Chinese compound 梅雨 ‎(literally “plum + rain”), in poetic reference to the season when plums grow.^[3][1]

Alternatively, the 黴雨 spelling may have been the original spelling. This is homophonous in Middle Chinese, and literally means mold + rain, in reference to how moldy things get during this season of constant humidity.^[3][1]

Pronunciation

• On'yomi: Kan'on
• (Tokyo) ば​いう [báꜜìù] (Atamadaka - [1])^[1][2]
• IPA^(key): [ba̠iɯᵝ]

Alternative forms

• 黴雨

Noun

梅雨 ‎(hiragana ばいう, romaji baiu)

1. East Asian rainy season

References

1. 1 2 3 4 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, ISBN 4-385-13905-9
2. 1 2 1998, NHK日本語発音アクセント辞典 (NHK Japanese Pronunciation Accent Dictionary) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: NHK, ISBN 978-4-14-011112-3
3. 1 2 1988, 国語大辞典（新装版） (Kokugo Dai Jiten, Revised Edition) (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Shogakukan

Korean

Noun

梅雨 • ‎(mae-u) ‎(hangeul 매우)

1. Hanja form^? of 매우, “East Asian rainy season”.

Synonyms

• 장마