(mài): wheat, barley, oats, mic (abbr. for 麥克風|麦克风)

(mài) is a Chinese character meaning “wheat.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of (structural) and (structural). It ranks #1169 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, simplified form of 麦; grains 來 ready to be harvested 夂. Its radical form (wheat) appears in many related characters.

Native pronunciation

Definitions

  1. wheat
  2. barley
  3. oats
  4. mic (abbr. for 麥克風|麦克风)

Etymology & Origin

ideographicSimplified form of 麦; grains 來 ready to be harvested 夂

Decomposition: ⿱龶夂 (layout: top-bottom)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Practice writing with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

HSK Vocabulary with

WordPinyinMeaningHSK
nounmài kè fēng(loanword) microphone6
nounxiǎo màiwheat6

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
mài kè(loanword) microphone
mài piànoatmeal
mài dí xùnMadison (name)
dān màiDenmark
mài dāng láoMcDonald's (fast food company)
mài yámalt
mài kǎi ēnMcCain (name)
yàn màioats
mài dāng nàMadonna (1958-), US pop singer
mài kè báiMacbeth (name)
hēi màirye (Secale cereale)
mài kè ā sèGeneral Douglas MacArthur (1880-1964), US commander in Pacific during WW2, sacked in 1951 by President Truman for exc...
qiáo màibuckwheat
mài díTracy McGrady (1979-), former NBA player
mài jiāMecca, Saudi Arabia
100
Total compounds
64
As first character
22
As last character
14
As middle character

appears in 100 compound words: 64 as the first character, 22 as the last, and 14 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Strongest Collocations

Characters that most frequently co-occur with in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

dān
0.64162,917 co-occurrences
bǎo
0.63213 co-occurrences
cuì
0.63112 co-occurrences
0.55212 co-occurrences
xùn
0.5307,392 co-occurrences
0.52982,919 co-occurrences
tuǐ
0.52013 co-occurrences
kǎi
0.5028,556 co-occurrences
0.4906,612 co-occurrences
láo
0.4586,377 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (4)

MàikètángnàHSK 7+

a transliteration of the English surname MacDonald or McDonald

bùbiànshūmàiHSK 7+

to have no knowledge of practical matters; to be ignorant of practical matters

phrase
Màikè'āsèHSK 6+

a transliteration of the English surname MacArthur or McArthur

MàikèsīwéiHSK 7+

Maxwell; maxwell

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

这个字在古汉语中有不同的含义。

zhè gě mài zì zài gǔ hàn yǔ zhōng yǒu bù tóng de hán yì .

The character "麦" had different meanings in ancient Chinese.

99 健康网Feb 2026

芽糖醇是无糖食品吗?作为甜味剂被允许用于...

mài yá táng chún shì wú táng shí pǐn ma ? zuò wéi tián wèi jì bèi yǔn xǔ yòng yú . . .

Is maltitol a sugar free food? As a sweetener is allowed in...

99 健康网Feb 2026

芽糖醇属于无糖食品吗?它算不算国标定义的...

mài yá táng chún shǔ yú wú táng shí pǐn ma ? tā suàn bù suàn guó biāo dìng yì de . . .

Is maltitol a sugar-free food? Is it considered the definition of the national standard...

StheadlineFeb 2026

当劳2.23起推全新人气着数套餐 脆辣鸡...

mài dāng láo 2 . 2 3 qǐ tuī quán xīn rén qì zhe shǔ tào cān cuì là jī . . .

McDonald's launches a new popular set meal from 2.23 Crispy Spicy Chicken...

大紀元 | 大紀元新聞網Feb 2026

神韵德州克艾伦满场 市长赞震撼人心

shén yùn dé zhōu mài kè ài lún mǎn chǎng shì cháng zàn zhèn hàn rén xīn

Shen Yun Texas McAllen was full of mayors' praises

StheadlineFeb 2026

当劳全新人气着数套餐优惠!脆辣鸡腿饱餐减...

mài dāng láo quán xīn rén qì zhe shǔ tào cān yōu huì ! cuì là jī tuǐ bǎo cān jiǎn . . .

McDonald's new popular set meal discount! Crispy and spicy chicken thighs are full of meals...

Tatoeba

你能辨别小和大吗?

Nǐ néng biànbié xiǎomài hé dàmài ma?

Can you tell wheat from barley?

Tatoeba

克叫他的狗波奇吗?

Màikè jiào tā de gǒu bō qí ma?

Does Mike call his dog Pochi?

Tatoeba

你觉得在当劳吃早餐如何?

Nǐ juéde zài Màidāngláo chī zǎocān rúhé?

What do you think about having breakfast at McDonald's?

Tatoeba

被称为贫穷的谷物。

Hēimài bèi chēngwéi pínqióng de gǔwù.

Rye was called the grain of poverty.

Character Family

Homophones — Characters pronounced mài

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 麦 (mài) mean in Chinese?
麦 (mài) primarily means "wheat." It is classified as HSK Level 6, making it an advanced character. It ranks #1169 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 麦 have?
麦 is written with 7 strokes. The correct stroke order matters for recognition and handwriting speed — practice with the animated guide above to build proper technique.
What is the radical of 麦?
The radical associated with 麦 is 麦 (wheat). This radical appears in many characters related to wheat.
What are the components of 麦?
麦 is composed of: 龶 (structural), 夂 (structural). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱龶夂 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 麦?
Common words with 麦 include: 麦克 (mài kè, "(loanword) microphone"); 麦克风 (mài kè fēng, "(loanword) microphone"); 麦片 (mài piàn, "oatmeal"); 麦迪逊 (mài dí xùn, "Madison (name)"); 丹麦 (dān mài, "Denmark"). There are over 100 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 麦 (mài)?
Several characters share the pronunciation mài: 埋 (to bury), 买 (to buy), 迈 (to take a step), 卖 (to sell), and 1 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 麦 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 麦 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear native pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.