菌 jūn / jùn — germ; bacteria; bacteria; mold; mushroom
山里长着各种各样的菌类。Shān lǐ zhǎng zhe gè zhǒng gè yàng de jūn lèi.Various kinds of fungi grow in the mountains.
Common words: 细菌 (xì jūn)、菌子 (jùn zi)、菌种 (jūn zhǒng)
Meaning Index
Chinese characters meaning "bacteria"
Learn Chinese characters with the meaning "bacteria", including 菌 (jūn / jùn), 菌 (jūn / jùn), 霉 (méi). Study pinyin, English meanings, traditional forms…
How to Study This Meaning Group
The English word "bacteria" covers 3 different Chinese characters — 菌 (jūn / jùn), 菌 (jūn / jùn), 霉 (méi) — and each is its own word with its own feel. These 3 characters do not share a sound — their readings span jūn, jùn, méi — so confirm the pinyin and tone for each one separately. The example sentences further down show how 菌 and the others are actually used, so you learn them in context rather than as a single translation.
- 菌 jūn / jùngerm; bacteria; bacteria; mold; mushroomUseful words: 细菌, 菌子
- 菌 jūn / jùngerm; bacteria; bacteria; mold; mushroomUseful words: 细菌, 菌子
- 霉 méibacteria; fungi; moldyUseful words: 倒霉, 发霉
Common words for these 3 "bacteria" characters
Anchor each of these 3 characters in a word you can picture — start with 菌 (jūn / jùn) — so "bacteria" turns into concrete usage instead of a one-to-one translation.
细菌xì jūnbacterium; germ菌子jùn zi(dialect) mushroom菌种jūn zhǒng(microorganism) species; strain; (fungus and mushroom) spore; spawn细菌xì jūnbacterium; germ菌子jùn zi(dialect) mushroom菌种jūn zhǒng(microorganism) species; strain; (fungus and mushroom) spore; spawn倒霉dǎo méito have bad luck; to be out of luck发霉fā méito become moldy霉气méi qìa moldy smell; damp and rotten; fig. rotten bad luck
See each character in a sentence
Each character below is shown in a short example sentence with pinyin and an English translation — the quickest way to feel the difference between the 3 ways to say "bacteria".
菌 jūn / jùn — germ; bacteria; bacteria; mold; mushroom
山里长着各种各样的菌类。Shān lǐ zhǎng zhe gè zhǒng gè yàng de jūn lèi.Various kinds of fungi grow in the mountains.
Common words: 细菌 (xì jūn)、菌子 (jùn zi)、菌种 (jūn zhǒng)
霉 méi — bacteria; fungi; moldy
食物放久了会发霉，不能再吃。Shí wù fàng jiǔ le huì fā méi, bù néng zài chī.Food left too long goes moldy and can no longer be eaten.
Common words: 倒霉 (dǎo méi)、发霉 (fā méi)、霉气 (méi qì)
All 3 characters
Open 菌、菌、霉 or any character below to hear it read aloud and see it used in an example sentence.