未

Stroke order

未 (Kangxi radical 75, 木+1, 5 strokes, cangjie input 十木 (JD), four-corner 5090₀, composition ⿻一木)

• 朱, 耒, 来, 佅, 味, 妹, 怽, 抺, 沬, 昧, 㭑, 𪸙, 祙, 𤽜, 眛, 𥞊, 𧙕, 跊, 魅, 鮇 (𱇛), 䵢
• 𣭐, 䙿, 𣚺, 㖝, 𣠖, 𣠕, 苿, 𠃥, 𠩺, 㲠, 㹈, 寐, 𥧌, 膥

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 509, character 5
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 14419
• Dae Jaweon: page 890, character 3
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 2, page 1150, character 1
• Unihan data for U+672A

Historical forms of the character 未
Shang		Western Zhou		Warring States	Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)
Bronze inscriptions	Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Oracle bone script	Chu slip and silk script	Small seal script

Pictogram (象形) – a tree with two layers of branches, or a tree's top branches not yet at full growth, signifying not grown (yet)

"not yet"

Fusion of negator 無 (OC *ma) with perfective particle 既 (OC *kɯds, “already”) (Jacques, 2000; similarly proposed by Pulleyblank, 1995, apud Schuessler, 2007).

"eighth earthly branch"

Smith (2011) proposes that this word denoted the waxing moon's "impending stage" before full moon. This word's early sense might be "tip" > "on the tipping point" if it could be connected to 末 (OC *maːd, “tip”), which is similar graphically and phonologically; though what morphological mechanism which can associate them two is unclear.

As for its association with the goat, Ferlus (2013) notes there is good correspondence with Austronesian Atayal miːts (“lamb”); also compare Lao ມົດ (mot, “year of the lamb”).

未

1. to have not; not yet

   未來／未来  ―  wèilái  ―  future [lit. have not come]

   我未睇本書。 [Cantonese, trad.]
   我未睇本书。 [Cantonese, simp.]

   ngo⁵ mei⁶ tai² bun² syu¹. [Jyutping]

   I have not read the book.

2. not
3. ^† Alternative form of 味 (wèi)
4. (Cantonese, Min) used at the end of questions to ask if one has done something yet

   食飽未？／食饱未？ [Cantonese]  ―  sik⁶ baau² mei⁶? [Jyutping]  ―  Are you full yet?

   你買咗未先？ [Cantonese, trad.]
   你买咗未先？ [Cantonese, simp.]

   nei⁵ maai⁵ zo² mei⁶ sin¹? [Jyutping]

   First off, have you even bought it yet?

5. eighth of twelve earthly branches
6. lamb (羊) of Chinese zodiac

• (not yet): 還沒／还没 (háiméi), 仍未 (réngwèi); (literary) 尚未 (shàngwèi); (Cantonese) 仲未, 並未／并未 (bìngwèi); (Hakka) 吂曾, 吂識／吂识; (Hokkien, Teochew) 猶未／犹未; (Wu) 朆
• (not):

• (Chinese earthly branches) 地支 (dìzhī); 子, 丑 (chǒu), 寅 (yín), 卯 (mǎo), 辰 (chén), 巳 (sì), 午 (wǔ), 未 (wèi), 申 (shēn), 酉 (yǒu), 戌, 亥 (hài) ^{(Category: zh:Chinese earthly branches)}