姆 meaning and stroke order
Governess, matron, nanny
How to write 姆, stroke by stroke
8 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 姆
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- used in 姆媽|姆妈[m1 ma1]
- (old) female tutor
- used in 保姆[bao3 mu3]
How 姆 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Woman.
女 gives the meaning and 母 hints at the sound.
Radical: 女 (woman), shared by 156 characters on this site.
How to remember 姆
姆 is a woman 女 (nǚ) next to 母 (mǔ), which gives the sound. Picture a woman who looks after children like a mother: a nanny.
Today 姆 mostly appears in the word 保姆 (bǎomǔ, nanny or housekeeper) and in loanwords that need a "mu" sound, such as 朗姆酒 (lǎngmǔjiǔ, rum). Example: 她家请了一个保姆。(Tā jiā qǐng le yí ge bǎomǔ.) Her family hired a nanny.
Common mistake: Learners often write 母 alone in 保姆 because the sound is the same. The word for nanny needs the 女 on the left: 保姆, not 保母. Also keep the inside of 母 as two dots, not one long stroke like 毋 (wú).
Common words with 姆
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
姆 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 姆
How many strokes are in 姆?
姆 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 姆 mean?
姆 (mǔ) means governess, matron, nanny. A common word with it is 保姆 (bǎomǔ), meaning "nanny; babysitter; housekeeper".
How do you pronounce 姆?
姆 is pronounced mǔ, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 姆?
The radical of 姆 is 女, which carries the idea of "woman". Dictionaries list 姆 under this radical.
Is 姆 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 姆 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Can 姆 be used on its own to mean nanny?
Not in modern Chinese. It appears inside words like 保姆 (bǎomǔ). The older sense of a female tutor is rare today.
Why is 姆 used in foreign words like rum and lime?
Chinese borrows foreign words by sound, and 姆 is a handy way to write a final "m" sound. That is why you see it in 朗姆酒 (lǎngmǔjiǔ, rum) and 莱姆 (láimǔ, lime), where it has nothing to do with women.