昧 (mèi): to conceal, dark
昧 (mèi) is a Chinese character meaning “to conceal.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 日 (semantic) and 未 (phonetic). It ranks #2306 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 昧 sun. Its radical form 日 (sun) appears in many related characters such as 日 (rì, sun, day), 早 (zǎo, early, morning), 时 (shí, time, hour).
Definitions
- to conceal
- dark
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
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Words & Compounds
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 冒昧adjective | mào mèi | bold |
| 暧昧adjective | ài mèi | vague |
| 愚昧adjective | yú mèi | ignorant |
| 暧昧关系 | ài mèi guān xì | shady relationship |
| 愚昧无知 | yú mèi wú zhī | stupid and ignorant (idiom) |
| 素昧平生phrase | sù mèi píng shēng | (idiom) to have never met sb before |
| 蒙昧adjective | méng mèi | uncultured |
| 拾金不昧phrase | shí jīn bù mèi | to pick up money and not hide it (idiom) |
| 昧心verb | mèi xīn | against one's conscience |
| 三昧noun | sān mèi | Samadhi (Buddhist term) |
| 暗昧adjective | àn mèi | obscure |
| 蒙昧无知 | méng mèi wú zhī | benighted (idiom) |
| 昧良心verb | mèi liáng xīn | it goes against one's conscience |
| 瞒心昧己 | mán xīn mèi jǐ | to blot out one's conscience |
| 昧没 | mèi mò | veiled |
昧 appears in 19 compound words: 26 as the first character, 47 as the last, and 26 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 昧 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (6)
to not pocket the money or other valuables one picks up; to return lost property to its owner
to not pocket the money or other valuables one picks up; to return lost property to its owner
Example Sentences
昧出时分，渔民们已经出海捕鱼了。
mèi chū shí fēn , yú mín men yǐ jīng chū hǎi bǔ yú le .
By the time dawn broke, the fishermen had already set out to sea to catch fish.
等巴士530现金飘落脚边 港女拾金不昧报警 3个月后无人认领获意外之财犹豫点处...
děng bā shì 5 3 0 xiàn jīn piāo luò jiǎo biān gǎng nǚ shè jīn bù mèi bào jǐng 3 gè yuè hòu wú rén rèn lǐng huò yì wài zhī cái yóu yù diǎn chǔ . . .
While waiting for the No. 530 bus, cash fell at her feet; a Hong Kong woman returned the money to the police. Three months later, with no one claiming it, she hesitated over what to do with the windfall...
俐蓁爆暧昧男队友同返住处 松口真实关系
俐 蓁 bào ài mèi nán duì yǒu tóng fǎn zhù chǔ sōng kǒu zhēn shí guān xì
Li Zhen Spotted Returning to Her Residence with a Male Teammate Amid Rumors of a Romance; Opens Up About Their True Relationship
暧昧建材业陈杰宪见光死!杨千霈生日趴“他盛装...
ài mèi jiàn cái yè chén jié xiàn jiàn guāng sǐ ! yáng qiān 霈 shēng rì pā tā shèng zhuāng . . .
Chen Jiexian, linked to the construction industry, is exposed! At Yang Qianpei’s birthday party, “he was all dressed up...”
5星座爱搞暧昧把你当备胎 天秤优柔寡断 这星座关心超朋...
5 xīng zuò ài gǎo ài mèi bǎ nǐ dāng bèi tāi tiān chēng yōu róu guǎ duàn zhè xīng zuò guān xīn chāo péng . . .
5 zodiac signs love to be ambiguous and treat you as a spare tire Libra is indecisive This constellation cares about super friends...
GOT7 Jay B传暧昧情! “同款情侣帽、背景”爆热恋74万正...
G O T 7 J a y B chuán ài mèi qíng ! tóng kuǎn qíng lǚ mào , bèi jǐng bào rè liàn 7 4 wàn zhèng . . .
GOT7 Jay B conveys ambiguous love! "Same couple hat, background" exploded love 740,000 positive...
愚昧始终是危险的。
Yúmèi shǐzhōng shì wēixiǎn de.
Ignorance is always dangerous.
他们的关系有些暧昧。
Tāmen de guānxi yǒuxiē àimèi.
Their relationship is dubious.
世上的罪恶差不多总是由愚昧无知造成的。
Shìshàng de zuì'è chàbuduō zǒngshì yóu yúmèiwúzhī zàochéng de.
The world's evil almost always comes from ignorance.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 日 (sun) component
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 昧 (mèi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 昧 and 灯?
How many strokes does 昧 have?
What is the radical of 昧?
What are the components of 昧?
What are common words containing 昧?
What characters sound the same as 昧 (mèi)?
Is 昧 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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