Learn Chinese Characters

Meaning

end; final stage; latter part

Chinese: 末端、末尾;最后、细小。

Hear the Four Tones

The same syllable “mo” becomes a different word in each tone. 末 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

  • 周末zhōu mòweekend
  • 期末qī mòthe end of a term or semester (in school)
  • 粉末fěn mòfine powder; dust
  • 末日mò rìlast day; end; final days; doomsday
  • 末了mò liǎo(coll.) final part; last bit; (coll.) in the end; finally

Example Sentence

这个学期就要到期末了。Zhè ge xué qī jiù yào dào qī mò le.This semester is coming to its end.

这个Zhè ge(pronoun) this学期xué qīterm就要jiù yàowill到期dào qīto fall due (loan etc)末了mò le(coll.) final part

Go deeper

Where this character comes from

A tree (木) with a long stroke across the top — pointing at the branch tips. It means ‘tip / end / final’.

A way to remember it

A mark at the top of the tree — up at the tips.

Easy to confuse with

  • wèi‘Not yet’: the upper line is the SHORTER one; in 末 the upper line is longer.
  • běn‘Root’: the extra line is at the BASE, not the top.