煤 meaning and stroke order
Coal
How to write 煤, 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 煤
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- coal
How 煤 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Fire.
火 gives the meaning and 某 hints at the sound.
Radical: 火 (fire), shared by 128 characters on this site.
How to remember 煤
煤 is fire 火 on the left plus 某 (mǒu) on the right, which gives the sound. Think of coal as the thing you put in the fire, and 某 hints at the reading méi.
煤 (méi) means coal and usually appears in compounds like 煤炭 (méitàn) coal, 煤矿 (méikuàng) coal mine, and 煤气 (méiqì) gas for cooking. Example: 这个地方有很多煤矿。(Zhège dìfang yǒu hěn duō méikuàng.) There are many coal mines in this area.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 煤 (méi) with 媒 (méi), as in 媒体 (méitǐ) media. They sound the same, but 媒 has 女 on the left while 煤 has 火 for fire.
Common words with 煤
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
煤 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 煤
How many strokes are in 煤?
煤 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 煤 mean?
煤 (méi) means coal. A common word with it is 煤气 (méiqì), meaning "coal gas; gas (fuel)".
How do you pronounce 煤?
煤 is pronounced méi, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 煤?
The radical of 煤 is 火, which carries the idea of "fire". Dictionaries list 煤 under this radical.
Is 煤 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 煤 is part of the HSK 5 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Does 煤气 mean the same as gasoline?
No. 煤气 (méiqì) is gas used for cooking or heating, such as coal gas or household gas. Gasoline for cars is 汽油 (qìyóu).
Why is 煤 pronounced méi when 某 is pronounced mǒu?
某 is the sound component, but sound components often give only an approximate hint in modern Mandarin. Other characters with 某, like 媒 (méi) and 谋 (móu), show that the hint points to similar sounds rather than an exact match.