镁 (měi): magnesium (chemistry)

镁 (měi) is a Chinese character meaning “magnesium (chemistry).” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 钅 (semantic) and 美 (phonetic). It ranks #3629 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 镁 metal. Its radical form 钅 (metal) appears in many related characters such as 金 (jīn, metal, gold), 钱 (qián, money), 银 (yín, silver, bank).

Spoken pronunciation

Radical: 钅 metal14 strokesFrequency #3629钅 semantic 美 phonetic

Definitions

magnesium (chemistry)

Etymology & Origin

镁

pictophoneticmetal

Decomposition: ⿰钅美 (layout: left-right)

Components:钅semantic 美phonetic

Stroke Order

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

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

Word	Pinyin	Meaning
镁光灯	měi guāng dēng	magnesium flashbulb
镁粉noun	měi fěn	magnesium powder (used in pyrotechnics etc)
铁镁质	tiě měi zhì	mafic rock (containing magnesium and iron, so comparatively heavy, making oceanic plates)
镁光	měi guāng	magnesium light (produced by burning magnesium)
氧化镁noun	yǎng huà měi	magnesium oxide MgO
氢氧化镁noun	qīng yǎng huà měi	magnesium hydroxide Mg(OH)2
矽镁层	xī měi céng	sima (geology)
硫酸镁noun	liú suān měi	magnesium sulfate
菱镁矿	líng měi kuàng	magnesite
镁棒	měi bàng	ferrocerium rod
镁盐	měi yán	magnesium salt
桂纶镁	guì lún měi	Guey Lun-mei (1983-), Taiwanese actress
镁砖	měi zhuān	magnesium brick (refractory material)
镁砂	měi shā	magnesium oxide (refractory material)

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

镁 appears in 14 compound words: 50 as the first character, 29 as the last, and 21 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

老师教我们镁字的发音和笔顺。

lǎo shī jiào wǒ men měi zì de fā yīn hé bǐ shùn .

The teacher taught us the pronunciation and stroke order of the character "镁."

三立新聞網Apr 2026

4年洗钱240亿镁!太子集团李雄落网惨送中

4 nián xǐ qián 2 4 0 yì měi ! tài zǐ jí tuán lǐ xióng luò wǎng cǎn sòng zhōng

Laundered 24 billion magnesium over 4 years! Li Xiong of the Prince Group was arrested and forcibly extradited to China

上海有色网Apr 2026

镁领未来,青阳县人民政府亮相AICE 20...

měi lǐng wèi lái , qīng yáng xiàn rén mín zhèng fǔ liàng xiāng A I C E 2 0 . . .

"Magnesium Leads the Future": Qingyang County People's Government Makes Its Debut at AICE 20...

SmzdmMar 2026

镁光DDR5单条内存能否独当一面?全网用户...

měi guāng D D R 5 dān tiáo nèi cún néng fǒu dú dāng yī miàn ? quán wǎng yòng hù . . .

Can a single stick of Micron DDR5 RAM hold its own? Users across the web...

SmzdmMar 2026

补维生素D需要搭配K2和镁吗?多数人饮食即可满足

bǔ wéi shēng sù D xū yāo dā pèi K 2 hé měi ma ? duō shǔ rén yǐn shí jí kě mǎn zú

Should vitamin D supplements be taken with vitamin K2 and magnesium? For most people, dietary intake is sufficient.

BusinesswireFeb 2026

NIPPON KINZOKU扩大超轻镁合金箔供应规模:以环保产品赋能未来

N I P P O N K I N Z O K U kuò dà chāo qīng měi gě jīn 箔 gōng yīng guī mó : yǐ huán bǎo chǎn pǐn fù néng wèi lái

NIPPON KINZOKU Expands Supply of Ultra-Lightweight Magnesium Alloy Foil: Empowering the Future with Eco-Friendly Products

Character Family

Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 钅 (metal) component

钱qián 钟zhōng 银yín 铁tiě 销xiāo 镇zhèn 镜jìng 键jiàn 锁suǒ 镖biāo

Related Characters

金jīn 钱qián 银yín 铁tiě 钢gāng 铜tóng 钟zhōng 针zhēn 错cuò 钉dīng

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 镁 (měi) mean in Chinese?

镁 (měi) primarily means "magnesium (chemistry)." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #3629 in character frequency.

How many strokes does 镁 have?

镁 is written with 14 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 镁?

The radical associated with 镁 is 钅 (metal). This radical appears in many characters related to metal.

What are the components of 镁?

镁 is composed of: 钅 (semantic), 美 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰钅美 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 镁?

Common words with 镁 include: 镁光灯 (měi guāng dēng, "magnesium flashbulb"); 镁粉 (měi fěn, "magnesium powder (used in pyrotechnics etc)"); 铁镁质 (tiě měi zhì, "mafic rock (containing magnesium and iron, so comparatively heavy, making oceanic plates)"); 镁光 (měi guāng, "magnesium light (produced by burning magnesium)"); 氧化镁 (yǎng huà měi, "magnesium oxide MgO"). There are over 14 compound words containing this character.

Is 镁 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

No. The simplified form is 镁 and the traditional form is 鎂.

Practice writing 镁 with real-time feedback

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