楣 meaning and stroke order
Crossbar; lintel
How to write 楣, stroke by stroke
13 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 楣
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- lintel
- crossbeam
How 楣 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Wood.
木 gives the meaning and 眉 hints at the sound.
Radical: 木 (tree), shared by 388 characters on this site.
How to remember 楣
楣 combines 木 (wood) with 眉 (méi, eyebrow), which gives the sound. Picture the wooden beam above a door as the doorway's eyebrow.
楣 is a fairly literary word for the lintel over a door, most often seen in 门楣 (ménméi). It also appears in 倒楣 (dǎoméi), an older variant spelling of 倒霉 (dǎoméi, unlucky). Example: 他今天真倒楣。(Tā jīntiān zhēn dǎoméi.) He is really unlucky today.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes write 媚 (mèi, charming) or 湄 (méi, riverbank) instead, because they share 眉 but have different radicals. Remember that a lintel is made of wood, so it takes 木.
Common words with 楣
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 倒楣 | dǎoméi | variant of 倒霉[dao3 mei2] |
楣 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 楣
How many strokes are in 楣?
楣 is written with 13 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 楣 mean?
楣 (méi) means crossbar; lintel. A common word with it is 倒楣 (dǎoméi), meaning "variant of 倒霉[dao3 mei2]".
How do you pronounce 楣?
楣 is pronounced méi, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 楣?
The radical of 楣 is 木, which carries the idea of "tree". Dictionaries list 楣 under this radical.
Should I write 倒楣 or 倒霉?
倒霉 is the standard modern spelling and the one you should use. 倒楣 is a variant you may see in older texts or some regional writing.
What does 光耀门楣 mean?
光耀门楣 (guāngyào ménméi) means to bring honor to one's family. Here 门楣 stands for the family and its reputation, not just the beam over the door.