馒 meaning and stroke order
Steamed buns; steamed dumplings
How to write 馒, stroke by stroke
14 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 馒
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- used in 饅頭|馒头[man2 tou5]
How 馒 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Food.
饣 gives the meaning and 曼 hints at the sound.
Radical: 饣 (food), shared by 43 characters on this site.
How to remember 馒
The food radical 饣 on the left tells you this is something to eat, and 曼 (màn) on the right gives the sound. Picture a soft, plain bun on your plate that sounds like "man".
馒 almost never appears alone. It lives in the word 馒头 (mántou), the plain steamed bun eaten across northern China, often at breakfast. Example: 我早饭吃了两个馒头。(Wǒ zǎofàn chī le liǎng gè mántou.) I ate two steamed buns for breakfast.
Common mistake: Learners often write the right side as 慢 (màn, slow) or 漫 (màn), which share 曼 but have different radicals. Remember that only the food radical 饣 belongs in 馒. Also note that 头 in 馒头 is said in the neutral tone, so it is mántou, not mántóu.
Common words with 馒
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 馒头 | mántou | steamed bun | HSK 6 |
馒 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 馒
How many strokes are in 馒?
馒 is written with 14 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 馒 mean?
馒 (mán) means steamed buns; steamed dumplings. A common word with it is 馒头 (mántou), meaning "steamed bun".
How do you pronounce 馒?
馒 is pronounced mán, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 馒?
The radical of 馒 is 饣, which carries the idea of "food". Dictionaries list 馒 under this radical.
What is the traditional form of 馒?
The traditional form of 馒 is 饅. Traditional characters are used in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macau; 馒 is the simplified form used in mainland China and Singapore.
Is 馒 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 馒 is part of the HSK 6 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 馒头 and 包子?
In standard Mandarin, 馒头 (mántou) is a plain steamed bun with no filling, while 包子 (bāozi) has a filling such as meat or vegetables. In some southern dialect areas, people may call filled buns 馒头 too.
How do you count 馒头 in Chinese?
Use the measure word 个 (gè), as in 三个馒头 (sān gè mántou), three steamed buns. The neutral tone on 头 stays the same in phrases like this.