埋 meaning and stroke order
To bury
How to write 埋, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
- 10
Meaning of 埋
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to bury
- used in 埋怨[man2 yuan4]
How 埋 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Earth.
土 gives the meaning and 里 hints at the sound.
Radical: 土 (soil), shared by 183 characters on this site.
How to remember 埋
埋 combines 土 (earth) on the left with 里 (lǐ, inside) on the right. Picture putting something inside the earth, which is exactly what burying is.
埋 (mái) means to bury or hide something, as in 埋葬 (máizàng, to bury the dead) or 埋伏 (máifú, to lie in wait). It also appears in idioms like 隐姓埋名 (yǐnxìngmáimíng, to live incognito). Example: 他把宝藏埋在树下。(Tā bǎ bǎozàng mái zài shù xià.) He buried the treasure under the tree.
Common mistake: Learners often read 埋怨 as máiyuàn, but in this word 埋 is pronounced mán, so it is mányuàn (to complain). Also do not confuse 埋 with 理 (lǐ), which has 王 on the left instead of 土.
Common words with 埋
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 埋伏 | máifú | to ambush; to lie in wait for | HSK 7-9 |
| 埋怨 | mányuàn | to complain; to grumble (about) | HSK 7-9 |
| 埋藏 | máicáng | to bury; to hide by burying | HSK 7-9 |
| 埋没 | máimò | to engulf; to bury | HSK 7-9 |
| 埋葬 | máizàng | to bury | |
| 活埋 | huómái | to bury alive | |
| 掩埋 | yǎnmái | to bury | |
| 隐姓埋名 | yǐnxìngmáimíng | to conceal one's identity; living incognito | |
| 埋头 | máitóu | to immerse oneself in; engrossed in sth | |
| 埋单 | máidān | to pay the bill (in a restaurant etc) (loanword from Cantonese); (fig.) to bear responsibi |
埋 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 埋
How many strokes are in 埋?
埋 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 埋 mean?
埋 (mái) means to bury. A common word with it is 埋伏 (máifú), meaning "to ambush; to lie in wait for".
How do you pronounce 埋?
埋 is pronounced mái, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 埋?
The radical of 埋 is 土, which carries the idea of "soil". Dictionaries list 埋 under this radical.
Is 埋 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 埋 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 里 appear in 埋 if the character is not pronounced lǐ?
里 is the phonetic component, giving a sound hint, while 土 gives the meaning of earth. Sound hints in characters often drifted over time, so the match is not exact.
What is the difference between 埋 and 藏 (cáng)?
藏 means to hide in general, in any place. 埋 specifically suggests covering something, usually with soil or another material. They combine in 埋藏 (máicáng), to hide by burying.