Translingual

Symbol

Mu

1. (chemistry, physics) The chemical symbol for muonium (anti-muon–electron pair pseudo-element; not the muon–anti-muon onium pair (muononium))

English

Proper noun

Mu

1. A hypothetical continent that allegedly existed in the Atlantic or Pacific Ocean.

Noun

Mu ‎(plural Mus)

1. μ (a mu particle)

Anagrams

• um, 'um, UM

English

Ancient Greek Alphabet

← lambda		→ nu
Μ μ Ancient Greek: μῦ
Wikipedia article on mu

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /muː/, /mjuː/
  • Homophone: moo (first pronunciation only)
  • Homophone: mew (second pronunciation only)
• (US) IPA^(key): /mjuː/
  • Homophone: mew

Noun

mu ‎(countable and uncountable, plural mus)

1. The 12th letter of the Modern Greek alphabet.

Translations

Derived terms

• mu-meson, muon
• mu-metal

Etymology 2

From Japanese 無 ‎(mu, “nothing, neither yes nor no”)

Pronunciation

• (UK) IPA^(key): /muː/
  • Homophone: moo
• (US) IPA^(key): /mjuː/, /muː/
  • Homophone: mew (first pronunciation only)
  • Homophone: moo (second pronunciation only)

Interjection

mu

1. (Zen Buddhism) Neither yes nor no.
   • 1974, Robert M. Pirsig, Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance:

     Mu means "no thing." Like "Quality" it points outside the process of dualistic discrimination. Mu simply says, "No class; not one, not zero, not yes, not no." [...] It's a great mistake, a kind of dishonesty, to sweep nature's mu answers under the carpet.

   • 1979, Douglas Hofstadter, Gödel, Escher, Bach: An Eternal Golden Braid:

     Achilles: Oh, but MU is Jōshū’s answer. By saying MU, Jōshū let the other monk know that only by not asking such questions can one know the answer to them.
     Tortoise: Jōshū “unasked” the question. […]
     Achilles: […] And the answer of “MU” here rejects the premises of the question, which are that one or the other must be chosen.

   • 1996, Dan Simmons, "Looking for Kelly Dahl", The Year's Best Science Fiction, page 424:

     "Mu," said Kelly Dahl.

     On one level mu means only yes, but on a deeper level of Zen it was often used by the master when the acolyte asked a stupid, unanswerable or wrongheaded question such as "Does a dog have the Buddha-nature?" The Master would answer only, "Mu," meaning—I say "yes" but mean "no," but the actual answer is: Unask the question.

   • 2002, Norman Waddell and Masao Abe, The Heart of Dōgen's Shōbōgenzō, page 72:

     The Fifth Patriarch's utterance You say mu [Buddha-nature] because Buddha-nature is emptiness articulates clearly and distinctly the truth that emptiness is not "no". In uttering Buddha-nature-emptiness one does not say "half a pound." One does not say "eight ounces." One says "mu."

   • 2010, Joan Price, Sacred Scriptures of the World Religions, page 70:

     A monk once asked Master Joshu, 'Has a dog the Buddha Nature or not?' Joshu said, 'Mu!'

Usage notes

Used to answer a question that if answered with "yes" or "no" would imply something false.

Noun

mu ‎(uncountable)

1. (Zen Buddhism) Nothingness; nonexistence; the illusory nature of reality.
   • 2012, Omori, Introduction To Zen Training, ISBN 1136167331, page 115:

     That being the case, we should naturally choose to contemplate mu from morning to night, forgetting everything.

   • 2012, Dr Robert Wilkinson, Nishida and Western Philosophy, ISBN 1409486001:

     Consequently, though mu is mindlike, the likeness to individual consciousness cannot be pushed very far.

   • 2013, Sean Murphy & ‎Natalie Goldberg, One Bird, One Stone: 108 Contemporary Zen Stories, ISBN 1571746978, page xvii:

     The monk posed to Chaoi-chou a question: Does a dog have a buddha nature or not?" Chao-chou, without a moment's hesitation, answered, “Mu." (Translated as "No.")

   • 2013, Maura O'Halloran, Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind, ISBN 086171752X:

     If mu is mind, consciousness, it is nothing.

Etymology 3

From Mandarin 畝／亩 (mǔ)

Noun

mu ‎(plural mu)

1. A unit of surface area, currently equivalent to 666 and 2/3 meters squared.
   • 2007 — Chang Liu, “Peasants and Revolution in Rural China: Rural Political Change in the North China Plain and the Yangzi Delta, 1850-1949”, page 87

     Of 114 village farming families, only ten had more than 30 mu of land and only five had more than 60 mu.

Anagrams

• um, 'um, UM

Asturian

Interjection

mu

1. moo (sound made by a cow or bull)

Czech

Pronunciation

Pronoun

mu

1. Singular dative masculine of on

Synonyms

• jemu

Extremaduran

Adverb

mu

1. very

See also

• muchu

French

Noun

mu m ‎(plural mu)

1. mu (Greek letter)

Ikobi-Mena

Noun

mu (Mena), mụ (Ikobi)

1. water

References

• Karl J. Franklin, Comparative Wordlist 1 of the Gulf District and adjacent areas (1975), page 67

Indonesian

Etymology

From Malay mu, shortened form of kamu, from Proto-Malayic *kamu(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)kamu, *kamiu, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)kamu, *kamiu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mu/

Pronoun

mu

1. you

Italian

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -u

Noun

mu m, f ‎(invariable)

1. The name of the letter M

Japanese

Romanization

mu

1. rōmaji reading of む
2. rōmaji reading of ム

Jurchen

Noun

mu

1. water

References

• Gisaburō Norikura Kiyose, A Study of the Jurchen Language and Script: Reconstruction and Decipherment (1977)

Kituba

Pronoun

mu

1. I

Kom (Cameroon)

Etymology 1

Noun

mu

1. water

Etymology 2

Adjective

mu

1. old

References

• Randy Jones, Provisional Kom - English lexicon (2001, Yaoundé, Cameroon)

Lojban

Cmavo

mu ‎(rafsi mum)

1. five

Malay

Etymology

Shortened form of kamu, from Proto-Malayic *kamu(ʔ), from Proto-Malayo-Polynesian *(i-)kamu, *kamiu, from Proto-Austronesian *(i-)kamu, *kamiu.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mu/
• Rhymes: -mu, -u

Pronoun

mu

1. you

See also

Mandarin

Romanization

mu

1. Nonstandard spelling of mú.
2. Nonstandard spelling of mǔ.
3. Nonstandard spelling of mù.

Usage notes

• English transcriptions of Mandarin speech often fail to distinguish between the critical tonal differences employed in the Mandarin language, using words such as this one without the appropriate indication of tone.

Northern Sami

Pronoun

mu

1. accusative and genitive of mun

Polish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [mu]

Pronoun

mu

1. Dative singular mute form of on.

See also

• Appendix:Polish pronouns

Portuguese

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -u

Etymology 1

Latin mūlus ‎(“mule”)

Noun

mu m (plural mus)

1. mule

Synonyms

• mulo

Etymology 2

Onomatopoeic.

Alternative forms

• muu, muuu, etc.

Interjection

mu

1. moo (the call of a cow)

Scottish Gaelic

Preposition

mu

1. about, around

   Bha craobhan mu ghàrradh an taighe.‎ ― There were trees around the house's yard.

2. about, concerning

   Bha sinn a' bruidhinn mu làithean san sgoil againn.‎ ― We were talking about our days at school.

3. about, approximately

   Bidh a' chuairt a' toirt mu thrì uairean.‎ ― The trip will take about three hours.

Usage notes

• Lenites the following word.

Derived terms

• The following prepositional pronouns:

Serbo-Croatian

Pronoun

mu ‎(Cyrillic spelling му)

1. to him (clitic dative singular of ȏn ‎(“he”))
2. to it (clitic dative singular of òno ‎(“it”))

Declension

Spanish

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -u

Noun

mu f ‎(plural múes)

1. mu; the Greek letter Μ, μ
2. moo (sound of a cow)

Synonyms

• mi

Swedish

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ʉː

Interjection

mu

1. moo

Noun

mu n

1. moo; the sound of a cow or a bull

See also

• råma

Turkish

Particle

mu

1. Used to form interrogatives.

   Ona bu soruyu sordun mu?

   Did you ask him/her this question?

   Mutlu musun?

   Are you happy?

   Pikniğe gitmiyor muyuz?

   Aren't we going for a picnic?

Usage notes

• Personal suffixes are added to the interrogative particles, as well as the past tense suffixes.
• This form is used when the last vowel of the previous word is "o" or "u". Other forms used with different vowels are: mı?, mi? and mü?

Tzotzil

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /mu/

Etymology 1

Adjective

mu

1. delicious

Etymology 2

Particle

mu

1. (negation) not

   Mu jna'. - I do not know him/her/it.

Synonyms

• muk'

Derived terms

(particles)

• mu'yuk

References

• “mu(1)”, “mu(2)” in Laughlin, Robert M. (1975) The Great Tzotzil Dictionary of San Lorenzo Zinacantán. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.
• Laughlin, Robert M. [et al.] (1988) The Great Tzotzil Dictionary of Santo Domingo Zinacantán, vol. I. Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press.

Volapük

Etymology

Borrowing from Spanish muy ‎(“very”).

Adverb

mu

1. extremely