めまい

め

ま

い

Common wordJLPTN3Freq.FrequencyTop 20,000

Meanings

1

noun

dizziness; vertigo; giddiness

usually written using kana alone

General term for a sensation of spinning or lightheadedness. Often used in medical or everyday contexts.

急きゅうに立たち上あがったら、めまいがした。
I felt dizzy when I stood up suddenly.

彼かの

女じょ

は

めまい

を

訴うった

え

て

病びょう

院いん

に

行い

っ

た

。

She went to the hospital complaining of dizziness.

Written forms

めまいUsage71%
Usually written in kana.
眩暈めまいUsage15%
Kanji form; rare in modern writing. 眩 means 'dizzy' and 暈 means 'halo' or 'faint'.
目眩めまいUsage8%
Alternate kanji form; rare. 目 means 'eye' and 眩 means 'dizzy'.
目めまいUsage7%
search-only kanji form
Search-only form; not a standard spelling.
メマイUsage<1%

Kanji

眩faint, dizzy
暈halo, corona, fade
目eye, class, look

Similar words

ふらつき
ふらつき refers more to unsteadiness or staggering, while めまい is the sensation of spinning or lightheadedness.
立たちくらみ
立ちくらみ is specifically dizziness upon standing up, a subtype of めまい.

Etymology

The word めまい is a native Japanese term. The kanji 眩暈 and 目眩 are ateji (characters used for their sounds or meanings rather than etymology). The exact historical derivation is uncertain.