脉 meaning and stroke order
A pulse; arteries, veins; blood vessels
How to write 脉, 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 脉
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- arteries and veins
- vein (on a leaf, insect wing etc)
- old variant of 脈|脉[mai4]
- variant of 脈|脉[mai4]
- see 脈脈|脉脉[mo4 mo4]
How 脉 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 脉
The left part ⺼ is the "flesh" radical used for body parts, and 永 (yǒng) means "long" or "forever". Picture long 永 channels running through your flesh ⺼, and you have 脉 (mài), the blood vessels that carry your pulse.
脉 (mài) appears mostly in compounds. Some are medical, like 动脉 (dòngmài, artery) and 静脉 (jìngmài, vein). Others describe things that branch or run in a line, like 山脉 (shānmài, mountain range), or something figurative, like 来龙去脉 (láilóng-qùmài, the whole story of how something happened). Example: 医生给我把脉。(Yīshēng gěi wǒ bǎ mài.) The doctor took my pulse.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 永 (yǒng) on the right with the similar-looking 水 (shuǐ). 永 has an extra dot on top and a hooked stroke, so check that part when you write 脉. Also keep the ⺼ on the left narrow, because it is the flesh radical, not 月 (yuè, moon), even though the two look the same here.
Common words with 脉
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 脉搏 | màibó | pulse (both medical and figurative) | HSK 7-9 |
| 血脉 | xuèmài | blood vessels | HSK 7-9 |
| 动脉 | dòngmài | artery | HSK 7-9 |
| 来龙去脉 | láilóng-qùmài | (lit.) the rise and fall of the terrain (idiom); (fig.) the whole sequence of events; caus | HSK 7-9 |
| 脉络 | màiluò | arteries and veins; network of blood vessels | HSK 7-9 |
| 山脉 | shānmài | mountain range | |
| 脉冲 | màichōng | pulse (physics) | |
| 静脉 | jìngmài | vein | |
| 静脉注射 | jìngmàizhùshè | intravenous injection | |
| 电磁脉冲 | diàncímàichōng | electromagnetic pulse (EMP) | |
| 动脉瘤 | dòngmàiliú | aneurysm | |
| 人脉 | rénmài | contacts; connections; network | |
| 颈动脉 | jǐngdòngmài | carotid artery (medicine) |
脉 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 脉
How many strokes are in 脉?
脉 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 脉 mean?
脉 (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 脉?
脉 is pronounced mài, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 脉?
The radical of 脉 is ⺼, which carries the idea of "meat". Dictionaries list 脉 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 脉?
The traditional form of 脉 is 䘑, 脈 and 衇. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 脉 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 脉 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 脉 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
When is 脉 pronounced mò instead of mài?
It is read mò only in the reduplicated form 脉脉 (mòmò). This describes a tender, affectionate gaze, as in 脉脉含情 (mòmò hánqíng), looking at someone with deep but unspoken feeling. Everywhere else, use mài.
What does 把脉 mean?
把脉 (bǎmài) means to feel or take someone's pulse, especially in traditional Chinese medicine, where the doctor reads the pulse at the wrist. It is also used figuratively for analyzing a situation, as in 为经济把脉 (wèi jīngjì bǎmài), to diagnose the economy.