Meaning
younger sister
Chinese: 妹妹，也泛指年轻女性。
Hear the Four Tones
The same syllable “mei” becomes a different word in each tone. 妹 is the 4th tone. Tap any tone to hear a native voice and see its pitch shape.
Stroke Order
Tap Animate to watch the strokes in order, or Practice to trace it yourself.
Common Words
- 妹妹mèi meiyounger sister; young woman
- 姐妹jiě mèisisters; siblings; sister (school, city etc)
- 妹子mèi zi(dialect) younger sister; girl
- 学妹xué mèijunior or younger female schoolmate
- 小妹xiǎo mèilittle sister; girl; (Tw) young female employee working in a low-level role dealing with the public (assistant, waitress, attendant etc)
Example Sentence
我有一个可爱的妹妹。Wǒ yǒu yí ge kě ài de mèi mei.I have a lovely younger sister.
我WǒI有yǒuto have一个yí gea可爱kě àiadorable的deof妹妹mèi meiyounger sister。
Go deeper
Where this character comes from
A woman (女) plus 未, which gives the sound. It means ‘younger sister’.
A way to remember it
Woman + 未 — a younger sister.
Easy to confuse with
- 姐‘Elder sister’: also a woman radical, but paired with 且, not 未.