媒 meaning and stroke order
Go-between, matchmaker; medium
How to write 媒, stroke by stroke
12 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 媒
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- medium
- intermediary
- matchmaker
- go-between
- abbr. for 媒體|媒体[mei2 ti3], media, esp. news media
How 媒 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Woman.
女 gives the meaning and 某 hints at the sound.
Radical: 女 (woman), shared by 156 characters on this site.
How to remember 媒
媒 is built from 女 (woman) plus 某 (mǒu), which gives the sound. Picture a woman who arranges a match for 某人 (mǒu rén, someone), the traditional matchmaker who stands in the middle between two families.
Today 媒 mostly appears in words about media and things that pass something along, such as 媒体 (méitǐ) and 媒介 (méijiè). The older sense of matchmaker still lives in words like 媒人 (méirén). Example: 新闻媒体报道了这件事。(Xīnwén méitǐ bàodào le zhè jiàn shì.) The news media reported this matter.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 媒 with 煤 (méi, coal), which has the same sound and the same 某 part but uses 火 (fire) on the left. If the meaning is media or matchmaking, use the woman radical 女.
Common words with 媒
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
媒 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 媒
How many strokes are in 媒?
媒 is written with 12 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 媒 mean?
媒 (méi) means go-between, matchmaker; medium. A common word with it is 媒体 (méitǐ), meaning "media, esp. news media".
How do you pronounce 媒?
媒 is pronounced méi, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 媒?
The radical of 媒 is 女, which carries the idea of "woman". Dictionaries list 媒 under this radical.
Is 媒 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 媒 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 3.
Why does 媒 sound like méi when its phonetic part 某 is read mǒu?
Sound components often drift over centuries, so the match is not exact today. Other characters with 某, like 煤 (méi) and 谋 (móu), show the same family of sounds.
How is 媒体 different from 传媒?
媒体 (méitǐ) is the everyday word for media outlets, like newspapers or TV. 传媒 (chuánméi) is more formal and often refers to the media as an industry, as in 传媒大学 (a university of communication).