咩 meaning and stroke order
The bleating of sheep
How to write 咩, stroke by stroke
9 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 咩
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- the bleating of sheep
- final particle which transforms statements into questions that indicate doubt or surprise (Cantonese)
- old variant of 咩[mie1]
How 咩 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. The sound a sheep 羊 makes with its mouth 口.
Radical: 口 (mouth), shared by 428 characters on this site.
How to remember 咩
A mouth 口 next to a sheep 羊 gives you the sound a sheep makes with its mouth: 咩 (miē), baa.
In Mandarin, 咩 is mainly an onomatopoeia for a sheep's bleat, often doubled as 咩咩. Example: 小羊咩咩叫。(Xiǎo yáng miēmiē jiào.) The little lamb goes baa baa. In Cantonese it also works as a sentence-final particle that turns a statement into a surprised or doubtful question.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes mix up 咩 with 样 (yàng), which has a similar right side but uses the wood radical 木 instead of the mouth 口. Keep the tone as a high, flat first tone, miē, not a falling mie.
Questions about 咩
How many strokes are in 咩?
咩 is written with 9 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 咩 mean?
咩 (miē) means the bleating of sheep.
How do you pronounce 咩?
咩 is pronounced miē, in the first tone (high and level).
What is the radical of 咩?
The radical of 咩 is 口, which carries the idea of "mouth". Dictionaries list 咩 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 咩?
The traditional form of 咩 is 哶. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 咩 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
What does 咩 mean in Cantonese?
In Cantonese, 咩 can be a final particle that turns a statement into a question showing doubt or surprise, a bit like saying "really?" at the end. You will see it in Hong Kong style messages and online chat.
Why is 咩 written with 口?
Many characters for sounds and sound words carry the mouth component 口. Here 口 marks that the character is about a sound, and 羊 tells you whose sound it is.