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靡

mí / mǐ
verb #38,331

Meanings

  1. 1 to waste; to squander (money, resources)
  2. 2 extravagant; lavish

Examples

奢靡之风是节俭的大敌。
Shēmí zhī fēng shì jiéjiǎn de dà dí.
Extravagant ostentation is the enemy of frugality.
空有其表的仪式靡费钱财，不如取消。
Kōng yǒu qí biǎo de yíshì mífèi qiáncái, bùrú qǔxiāo.
An empty ceremony wastes money and is best done away with.

Tips

usage
The mí reading is narrowly bound to two compounds, both about wasteful luxury: 奢靡 (extravagant, lavishly wasteful — the more common term, especially in formal/political writing about corruption) and 靡费 (to waste, squander resources). Both are higher-register than spoken alternatives like 浪费 (waste).
mistakes
mí (2nd tone, this entry) means 'waste / extravagant'. For 'wildly popular / listless / swept-flat' senses, switch to 靡 (3rd tone). A quick test: if the compound is about money or luxury, it's mí. If it's about being flattened, swept along, or unable to rise, it's mǐ.

Components

radical
非 fēi
not; non-
Bottom indexing radical (Kangxi #175). The 'waste / extravagant' sense of mí connects to 非 via 'non-proper', 'against right conduct' — extravagance as something that should not be.
phonetic
麻 má
hemp; supplying the sound
Top-left 麻 — supplies the sound for both readings (mí and mǐ). The phonetic family extends to 魔 (demon), 磨 (grind), 摩 (rub).

Stroke Order

靡 mí