Meaning of 膜
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- membrane
- film
How to use 膜
膜 usually appears in compounds for thin layers in the body or on surfaces, such as 视网膜 (shìwǎngmó, retina) and 虹膜 (hóngmó, iris). In daily life you will hear it most in 面膜 (miànmó, facial mask) and 保鲜膜 (bǎoxiānmó, plastic wrap). Example: 我晚上敷了一张面膜。(Wǒ wǎnshang fū le yì zhāng miànmó.) I put on a face mask tonight.
膜 (mó) has the flesh radical 月 on the left and 莫 (mò) on the right, which gives the sound. Picture a thin layer covering flesh, like the skin on a body part, and you have a membrane or film.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 膜 (mó) with 摸 (mō, to touch) and 漠 (mò, desert), which share the same 莫 part. Check the left side. 月 means flesh, 扌 means hand, and 氵 means water. Also keep the second tone for 膜.
膜 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.
膜 mó · membrane · 14 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 膜.
| 视网膜 | shìwǎngmó | retina |
| 面膜 | miànmó | facial mask; cleanser |
| 膜拜 | móbài | to kneel and bow with joined hands at forehead level; to worship |
| 虹膜 | hóngmó | iris (of an eye) |
Questions about 膜
What does 膜 mean?
膜 (mó) means "membrane; film" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 膜?
膜 is made of 1 character: 膜 (14 strokes). That is 14 strokes in total.
Is 膜 an HSK word?
Yes. 膜 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
Why does 膜拜 (móbài) mean to worship if 膜 means membrane?
In 膜拜, 膜 does not carry the meaning of membrane. The word describes a deep, respectful bow with joined hands, and today it is also used jokingly online to mean you greatly admire someone.
What verb goes with 面膜 (miànmó)?
The usual verb is 敷 (fū), as in 敷面膜 (fū miànmó), to apply a face mask. You may also hear 做面膜 (zuò miànmó) or 贴面膜 (tiē miànmó) for sheet masks.