Covered in (something dirty): 〜まみれ
名詞 + まみれ
Noun + まみれ: covered, soiled with a sticky substance (mud, sweat, blood, dust), or figuratively drowning in debt or scandal. Always negative; for scattered things, you say だらけ.
In short
〜まみれ describes something (often a person or clothing) entirely covered in a substance that sticks and dirties: mud, sweat, blood, dust, oil. Figuratively, it's used for debts or scandals that “stick to you”. The nuance is always unpleasant.
- 子どもたちは泥まみれになって遊んでいた。こどもたちはどろまみれになってあそんでいた。The children were playing, covered in mud.
- 汗まみれのシャツを着替えたい。あせまみれのしゃつをきがえたい。I want to change out of this sweat-soaked shirt.
- その会社は借金まみれで、倒産は時間の問題だった。そのかいしゃはしゃっきんまみれで、とうさんはじかんのもんだいだった。The company was drowning in debt; bankruptcy was only a matter of time.
The basics
まみれ comes from the verb まみれる, “to be smeared, coated with”. Attached to the noun of a substance, it says the surface is covered with it all over, to the point of being dirty. It's a visual, physical observation, almost always unpleasant — like English “-soaked”, “caked in”, “smeared with”.
Figuratively, the idea of something that sticks and can't be shaken off remains: 借金まみれ (drowning in debt), 汚職まみれ (riddled with corruption).
The children were playing, covered in mud.
- noun
- grammatical form
- verb
- 雨の中のサッカーで、体じゅう泥まみれになった。あめのなかのさっかーで、からだじゅうどろまみれになった。After football in the rain, I was covered in mud from head to toe.
- 倉庫から出てきた箱は、ほこりまみれだった。そうこからでてきたはこは、ほこりまみれだった。The box that came out of the storeroom was covered in dust.
How to form it
まみれ is used like a noun: attach it directly to the noun of the substance, then add だ, の, に depending on its position in the sentence.
| Use | Construction | Example |
|---|---|---|
| predicate | noun + まみれだ | 手が油まみれだ |
| before a noun | noun + まみれの + noun | 汗まみれのシャツ |
| become | noun + まみれになる | 泥まみれになる |
| manner | noun + まみれで | 血まみれで倒れていた |
- 車を直していたので、手が油まみれだ。くるまをなおしていたので、てがあぶらまみれだ。I was fixing the car, so my hands are covered in grease.
- 男は血まみれで道に倒れていた。おとこはちまみれでみちにたおれていた。The man was lying in the street, covered in blood.
まみれ, だらけ, ずくめ
だらけ (N3) says there's far too much of something, scattered all over: mistakes, holes, wounds, cigarette ends. It also works with abstract or countable things (間違いだらけ, 傷だらけ). まみれ, on the other hand, is about a substance that covers a surface and sticks to it.
With mud or dust, both are possible (泥だらけ, 泥まみれ); まみれ stresses being coated, smeared. With mistakes, holes or problems, only だらけ is correct.
Finally, ずくめ means “nothing but” and can be positive (いいことずくめ). It isn't about dirt.
| Expression | Image | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜まみれ | coated, soiled with a substance | 汗まみれ、血まみれ、借金まみれ |
| 〜だらけ | full of scattered things (negative) | 間違いだらけ、傷だらけ、ゴミだらけ |
| 〜ずくめ | entirely, nothing but (sometimes positive) | 黒ずくめ、いいことずくめ |
- このレポートは誤字だらけだ。このれぽーとはごじだらけだ。This report is full of typos.
- 彼は政治の世界で、スキャンダルまみれになった。かれはせいじのせかいで、すきゃんだるまみれになった。In the world of politics, he ended up tainted by scandals.
Common mistakes
- Saying “×間違いまみれ”: mistakes don't stick to your skin; you say 間違いだらけ.
- Using it for something pleasant: “covered in flowers” isn't said with まみれ. For a compliment, use いっぱい or で覆われる.
- Forgetting の before a noun: you say 汗まみれのシャツ, not “汗まみれシャツ”.
7 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N1 point is on the Jōetsu Line (The land and the environment) of the Shinkansen.