Pinyin Syllable
Chinese characters pronounced mi
Learn common Chinese characters pronounced mi, including 米 mǐ, 密 mì, 秘 mì, 迷 mí, 弥 mí. Compare tones, meanings, traditional forms, words…
How to Pronounce This Syllable
Build mi by sliding from m straight into i; the tone rides over the joined sound, so treat it as one unit.
Initial m
Start the syllable on the initial m, then run straight into the final i — keep them joined instead of sounding out separate English letters.
Final i
After zh, ch, sh, r, z, c, s, this i is not the clear “ee” in see.
Study Tip
Start with the most common characters (米 mǐ, 密 mì, 秘 mì, 迷 mí, 弥 mí) and lock in their tones. 7 common characters share the sound mi, so lean on words to tell the rest apart.
Learn by Tone
mi turns up here with 3 different tones; a change of tone usually means a different character, so the groups below are split by tone.
2nd tone
Taking the 2nd tone here: 迷, 弥, 谜 (3 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
3rd tone
Taking the 3rd tone here: 米 (1 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
4th tone
Taking the 4th tone here: 密, 秘, 蜜 (3 in total). Lock this tone in your ear before the meaning.
Common Words With This Sound
Seeing mi inside whole words makes it clear which character is meant — here are common ones.
Characters
7 common characters in this group.