Meaning of 妹
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- younger sister
How to use 妹
On its own 妹 is rare in speech. People usually say 妹妹 (mèimei) for a younger sister, and 妹 appears inside words like 姐妹 (jiěmèi) and 表妹 (biǎomèi). Example: 我有一个妹妹。(Wǒ yǒu yí gè mèimei.) I have a younger sister.
妹 (mèi) combines 女 (woman) with 未 (wèi), which also gives the sound. Think of 未 as meaning "not yet": a girl who is not yet grown up is your younger sister.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up the right side 未 (wèi) with 末 (mò). In 未 the upper horizontal stroke is shorter than the lower one. Also, 妹 only means a younger sister. An older sister is 姐 (jiě).
妹 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
妹 mèi · younger sister · 8 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
- 7
- 8
Related words
Words that share a character with 妹.
| 妹妹 | mèimei | younger sister; young woman |
| 姐妹 | jiěmèi | sisters; siblings |
| 妹子 | mèizi | (dialect) younger sister; girl |
| 表妹 | biǎomèi | younger female cousin through a female relative |
| 兄弟姐妹 | xiōngdìjiěmèi | brothers and sisters; siblings |
| 小妹妹 | xiǎomèimei | little sister; little girl |
| 辣妹 | làmèi | hot chick; sexy girl |
| 姊妹 | zǐmèi | (older and younger) sisters; sister (school, city etc) |
| 小妹 | xiǎomèi | little sister; girl |
| 兄妹 | xiōngmèi | brother(s) and sister(s) |
| 妹夫 | mèifu | younger sister's husband |
| 弟妹 | dìmèi | younger sibling; younger brother's wife |
Questions about 妹
What does 妹 mean?
妹 (mèi) means "younger sister" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 妹?
妹 is made of 1 character: 妹 (8 strokes). That is 8 strokes in total.
Is 妹 an HSK word?
Yes. 妹 is on the HSK 1 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do you pronounce the second 妹 in 妹妹?
The second syllable is said in the neutral tone, so it sounds like mèimei, light and short. The first syllable keeps its fourth tone.
Can 妹子 or 小妹妹 be used for girls who are not my sister?
Yes. 小妹妹 (xiǎomèimei) is a friendly way to address a little girl. 妹子 (mèizi) is casual and dialectal for a young woman, so use it only in informal settings.