妹
Character Story & Explanation
In modern Mandarin, 妹 is widely used in daily speech and writing — especially in family contexts, social media, and informal address (e.g., calling a young female friend 'mèimei' as a term of endearment). It appears in the standard term 妹妹 (mèimei), one of the most frequently used kinship words in spoken Chinese. Historically, 妹 appears in early texts like the *Shuōwén Jiězì* (121 CE), where it’s defined as 'a younger female sibling', confirming its long-standing semantic stability.
The character is not pictographic but phono-semantic: 女 (radical, meaning) + 未 (phonetic, approximating mèi). While 未 originally depicted tree branches (symbolizing 'not yet'), here it functions purely for sound — a well-documented feature of later seal script standardization. No oracle bone form survives for 妹, so its earliest attested form is from bronze inscriptions of the Warring States period.
Hello students! Today we’ll explore the character 妹 (mèi), meaning 'younger sister'. It’s an HSK Level 2 word — very common and essential for family vocabulary. Notice its radical 女 (nǚ), meaning 'female' or 'woman', which appears on the left side. This tells us the character is related to women or girls — a key clue for understanding and remembering many Chinese characters.
The right side, 未 (wèi), serves as a phonetic component: it hints at pronunciation (mèi sounds close to wèi, though tones differ). Don’t worry if the sound isn’t exact — this is normal in Chinese phonetics! The full character has just 8 strokes, making it beginner-friendly to write once you learn the stroke order.
Remember: 妹 only means *younger* sister — not just any sister. If someone is older, we use 姐 (jiě). This age-based distinction is central to Chinese kinship terms and reflects cultural values of respect for seniority. Using 妹 correctly shows you understand both language and social nuance — a great step toward real communication!
Example Sentences
Common Compounds
Similar Characters — Don't Mix These Up
Your First Step into Chinese Culture: Get a Chinese Name
Every journey into Chinese begins with a name. Use our free Chinese name generator to create a meaningful, personalized Chinese name that fits you perfectly.
Get My Chinese Name →