迈 meaning and stroke order
To step; to stride; (bound form) old; elderly; (loanword) mile (esp. in expressions of vehicle speed)
How to write 迈, stroke by stroke
6 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 迈
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- to step; to stride
- (bound form) old; elderly
- (loanword) mile (esp. in expressions of vehicle speed)
How 迈 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. To take ten thousand 万 steps 辶.
Radical: 辶 (to walk), shared by 131 characters on this site.
How to remember 迈
The walking radical 辶 carries 万 (wàn, ten thousand), so picture someone taking ten thousand strides. After that many steps, a person is bound to feel old, which links to the sense 年迈 (niánmài, aged).
迈 is mostly used for taking a big step, often figuratively for progress, as in 迈出 (màichū) and 迈向 (màixiàng). It also appears in 年迈 for elderly people and, informally, as a loanword for miles per hour when talking about car speed. Example: 他迈出了第一步。(Tā màichū le dì yī bù.) He took the first step.
Common mistake: Learners often write the inside part as 方 (fāng) or 力 (lì) instead of 万, since they look alike in small print. Also note the tone is fourth tone mài, the same as 卖 (mài, to sell), so do not mix up the two characters when typing.
Common words with 迈
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
迈 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 迈
How many strokes are in 迈?
迈 is written with 6 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 迈 mean?
迈 (mài) means to step; to stride; (bound form) old; elderly; (loanword) mile (esp. in expressions of vehicle speed). A common word with it is 迈进 (màijìn), meaning "to step in; to stride forward".
How do you pronounce 迈?
迈 is pronounced mài, in the fourth tone (falling).
What is the radical of 迈?
The radical of 迈 is 辶, which carries the idea of "to walk". Dictionaries list 迈 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 迈?
The traditional form of 迈 is 邁. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 迈 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 迈 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 迈 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you say car speed with 迈 in Chinese?
In casual speech people say a number plus 迈, like 开到一百迈 (kāi dào yī bǎi mài), to drive at a hundred. Even though 迈 comes from mile, many speakers in mainland China use it loosely to mean kilometers per hour.
What is the difference between 迈 and 走 (zǒu)?
走 is the everyday word for walking. 迈 stresses lifting the foot to take one deliberate stride, as in 迈过门槛 (màiguò ménkǎn, step over the threshold), and it sounds more formal or vivid.