昧 meaning and stroke order
Dark, hidden, obscure
How to write 昧, 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.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
- 9
Meaning of 昧
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to conceal
- dark
How 昧 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Sun.
日 gives the meaning and 未 hints at the sound.
Radical: 日 (sun), shared by 116 characters on this site.
How to remember 昧
昧 is made of 日 (sun) and 未 (not yet). Picture the time when the sun has not yet come up: everything is still dark and hidden. 未 (wèi) also hints at the sound mèi.
昧 rarely stands alone in modern Chinese. It mostly appears in set words like 冒昧 (màomèi), 愚昧 (yúmèi) and 暧昧 (àimèi). A common polite phrase is 冒昧地问一下 (màomèi de wèn yíxià), "may I be so bold as to ask."
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 昧 with 味 (wèi, taste), since both use 未. Remember that 昧 has the sun 日 for darkness, while 味 has the mouth 口 for taste. Also watch the 未 part: its top stroke is shorter than the lower one. If the top stroke is longer, it becomes 末 (mò).
Common words with 昧
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
昧 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 昧
How many strokes are in 昧?
昧 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 昧 mean?
昧 (mèi) means dark, hidden, obscure. A common word with it is 冒昧 (màomèi), meaning "bold; presumptuous".
How do you pronounce 昧?
昧 is pronounced mèi, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 昧?
The radical of 昧 is 日, which carries the idea of "sun". Dictionaries list 昧 under this radical.
Is 昧 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 昧 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 冒昧 rude or polite?
It is polite and humble. You use it about yourself before asking or saying something that might seem forward, as in 恕我冒昧 (shù wǒ màomèi), "pardon my boldness."
What does 暧昧 mean when people talk about relationships?
In everyday speech 暧昧 often describes an unclear romantic situation, more than friends but not officially a couple. It can also mean vague or ambiguous in general, such as an unclear attitude.