脈 meaning and stroke order
A pulse; arteries, veins; blood vessels
How to write 脈, stroke by stroke
10 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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- 10
Meaning of 脈
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- arteries and veins
- vein (on a leaf, insect wing etc)
- see 脈脈|脉脉[mo4 mo4]
How 脈 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. Long 永 vessels through one's body ⺼.
Radical: ⺼ (meat), shared by 176 characters on this site.
How to remember 脈
The flesh radical ⺼ on the left means the body, and 永 (yǒng, long, lasting) on the right suggests something long. Picture long channels running through your body, and you have 脈 (mài), the blood vessels that carry your pulse.
脈 (mài) appears mostly in compound words. It covers blood vessels like 動脈 (dòngmài, artery) and 靜脈 (jìngmài, vein), and anything shaped like a network of lines, such as 山脈 (shānmài, mountain range). Example: 醫生在量他的脈搏。(Yīshēng zài liáng tā de màibó.) The doctor is taking his pulse.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 脈 (mài) with 派 (pài, faction, to send), because the right sides look alike. Remember that 脈 has the flesh radical ⺼ for the body, while 派 has the water radical 氵.
Common words with 脈
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 脈搏 | màibó | pulse (both medical and figurative) | HSK 7-9 |
| 血脈 | xuèmài | blood vessels | HSK 7-9 |
| 動脈 | dòngmài | artery | HSK 7-9 |
| 來龍去脈 | láilóng-qùmài | (lit.) the rise and fall of the terrain (idiom); (fig.) the whole sequence of events; caus | HSK 7-9 |
| 脈絡 | màiluò | arteries and veins; network of blood vessels | HSK 7-9 |
| 山脈 | shānmài | mountain range | |
| 脈衝 | màichōng | pulse (physics) | |
| 靜脈 | jìngmài | vein | |
| 靜脈注射 | jìngmàizhùshè | intravenous injection | |
| 電磁脈衝 | diàncímàichōng | electromagnetic pulse (EMP) | |
| 動脈瘤 | dòngmàiliú | aneurysm | |
| 人脈 | rénmài | contacts; connections; network | |
| 頸動脈 | jǐngdòngmài | carotid artery (medicine) |
Questions about 脈
How many strokes are in 脈?
脈 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 脈 mean?
脈 (mài) means a pulse; arteries, veins; blood vessels. A common word with it is 脉搏 (màibó), meaning "pulse (both medical and figurative)".
How do you pronounce 脈?
脈 is pronounced mài, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 脈?
The radical of 脈 is ⺼, which carries the idea of "meat". Dictionaries list 脈 under this radical.
What is the simplified form of 脈?
脈 is a traditional character. Its simplified form is 脉, used in mainland China and Singapore.
Why is 脈 sometimes read mò instead of mài?
The mò reading is used only in the reduplicated word 脈脈 (mòmò), which describes a quiet, affectionate look, as in 含情脈脈 (hánqíng mòmò). Everywhere else, read it mài.
What does 來龍去脈 mean and when would I use it?
來龍去脈 (láilóng-qùmài) literally describes the rise and fall of terrain. Figuratively it means the whole story of something, from cause to result. You might say 我想了解事情的來龍去脈 (I want to know the full story of what happened).