🌏 Region(s): Ryukyu (Okinawa)
にーぶい【眠い】 : niibui | define meaning
niibui
Pronunciation: [niːbui]
Definition
Noun
- Sleepiness; drowsiness; somnolence
Etymology
Cognate with standard Japanese ねむり【眠り】 nemuri "sleep" and its variant ねぶり neburi.
Historical Ryukyuan attestations
- Vocabulary of the language spoken at the Great Loo-Choo Island, in the Japan Sea (1818), by Herbert John Clifford, records "Eyes, closing the. Neeboóee".
Spelling
| Orthography | Form |
|---|---|
| Kanji | 眠い |
| Kana | にーぶい |
| Romanization | niibui |
| Pronunciation (IPA) | [niːbui] |
意味：ねむけ【眠気】、すいま【睡魔】、いねむり【居眠り】、ねむり・ねぶり【眠り】
Categories:
眠い
Cite this entry: Read, Zachary. (2025, December 26). にーぶい【眠い】 : niibui | define meaning. JLect: Japonic Languages and Dialects Database. Retrieved 2026, February 4, from https://www.jlect.com/entry/931/niibui/.