Japanese

Verb

舞う ‎(intransitive, godan conjugation, hiragana まう, romaji mau, historical hiragana まふ)

1. dance
2. twirl
3. to pass through the air in a smooth way

   風 (かぜ)に舞 (ま)う花 (はな)びら

   kaze ni mau hanabira

   flower petals blowing in the wind

Usage notes

This word primarily refers to whirling dances, as opposed to 踊る ‎(おどる, odoru) which primarily refers to hopping dances.

Conjugation

References

1. 1 2 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