Chinese word

弥漫

Pronunciation

Pinyinmí màn

Meaning

  • verbfill

Example

房间里弥漫着咖啡的香味。fáng jiān lǐ mí màn zhe kā fēi de xiāng wèi

The room is filled with the smell of coffee.

Illustration for 弥漫 (fill)

More examples

海面上弥漫着一层薄雾。hǎi miàn shàng mí màn zhe yì céng bó wù

A thin mist spreads across the sea.

Core concept

A presence spreads through a space until it seems to occupy every corner.

Common phrases

  • 弥漫着香味mí màn zhe xiāng wèi

    be filled with scent

  • 弥漫在空气中mí màn zài kōng qì zhōng

    fill the air

  • 弥漫着悲伤mí màn zhe bēi shāng

    be filled with sorrow

Similar words

充满chōng mǎn: Be filled with something, leaving little or no empty space.
遍布biàn bù: Be distributed widely across all parts of an area.
扩散kuò sàn: Spread outward from a source into the surrounding area.
蔓延màn yán: Spread in an uncontrolled way across an area, especially a disease or harmful problem.

Definition in Chinese

无形事物在空间内普遍散布并占满，既可指气味和烟雾，也可指情绪或氛围的弥散。wú xíng shì wù zài kōng jiān nèi pǔ biàn sàn bù bìng zhàn mǎn jì kě zhǐ qì wèi hé yān wù yě kě zhǐ qíng xù huò fēn wéi de mí sàn

Word origin

弥漫 (mímàn, "to spread and fill") combines 弥 (mí, "to extend widely") with 漫 (màn, "to spread freely"), giving the image of something extending throughout a whole space.

Usage tips

  • In Chinese, this word can describe both a physical presence and the mood of a situation, so it is useful when the surrounding feeling matters more than its exact source.

Other meanings

  • spreadverb
  • coververb

Opposites

Related words

  • 弥漫性mí màn xìngdiffuseadjective

Word lists with this word