醚 meaning and stroke order
Ether
How to write 醚, stroke by stroke
16 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 醚
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- ether
How 醚 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Chemical.
酉 gives the meaning and 迷 hints at the sound.
Radical: 酉 (wine), shared by 67 characters on this site.
How to remember 醚
醚 combines 酉, the wine jar radical used for alcohols and chemicals, with 迷 (mí), which gives the sound and means to be confused or lost. Picture a chemical from a jar that makes you dizzy and 迷 (mí), since ether was once used to put patients under.
醚 (mí) is a chemistry term for ether, the class of compounds with an oxygen atom linking two carbon groups. It mostly appears in compound names and technical writing, for example 乙醚 (yǐmí), diethyl ether. 医生以前用乙醚做麻醉。(Yīshēng yǐqián yòng yǐmí zuò mázuì.) Doctors used to use ether for anesthesia.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 醚 (mí) with 酶 (méi, enzyme) and 醇 (chún, alcohol), since all three share the 酉 radical and show up in science texts. Look at the right side: 迷 tells you it is mí.
Questions about 醚
How many strokes are in 醚?
醚 is written with 16 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 醚 mean?
醚 (mí) means ether.
How do you pronounce 醚?
醚 is pronounced mí, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 醚?
The radical of 醚 is 酉, which carries the idea of "wine". Dictionaries list 醚 under this radical.
Does 醚 mean the same as 以太 (yǐtài)?
No. 以太 (yǐtài) is the old physics idea of a luminiferous ether, and it is also used in names like 以太网 (Ethernet). 醚 (mí) refers only to the chemical compound.
Is 醚 used in everyday conversation?
Rarely. You will mainly meet it in chemistry classes, labs, product labels, and medical history, usually inside names like 乙醚 (yǐmí) or 甲醚 (jiǎmí, dimethyl ether).