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🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)

まぶい・マブイ

mabui

Pronunciation: [mabui]

Definition

Noun

  1. Soul; spirit; essence of life
    1. いちまぶい【生ちまぶい
      ichi mabui
      "Soul of the living"
    2. しにまぶい【死にまぶい
      shini mabui
      "Soul of the dead"
    3. まぶいわかし
      mabui wakashi
      "Separation of soul" (A Ryukyuan rite)

Etymology

Cognate with Amami (Kakeroma) なぶり naburi, まぶり maburi and まぶい mabui; Okinawan まぶい mabui and まぶやー mabuyaa; Yaeyama (Hatoma) まぶる maburu "soul". Most likely cognate with standard Japanese まもり【守り・守・護り・戍り】 mamori "protection; charm, amulet", historically also attested with the spelling まぼり mabori.

Spelling

OrthographyForm
Kanaまぶい
マブイ
Romanizationmabui
Pronunciation (IPA)[mabui]

意味:たましい【魂】、せいこん【精魂】、れいこん【霊魂】

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まぶい
Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2025, February 2). まぶい・マブイ : mabui | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2025, March 14, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/752/mabui/.