妹 (mèi): younger sister
妹 (mèi) is a Chinese character meaning “younger sister.” Classified as HSK Level 1 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 女 (semantic) and 未 (phonetic). It ranks #1181 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 妹 woman. Its radical form 女 (woman) appears in many related characters such as 女 (nǚ, woman), 奶 (nǎi, grandmother, milk), 她 (tā, she).
Definitions
- younger sister
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 妹 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.
Words & Compounds
HSK Vocabulary with 妹
Common Compounds
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 兄妹 | xiōng mèi | brother(s) and sister(s) |
| 表妹 | biǎo mèi | younger female cousin through a female relative |
| 姊妹 | zǐ mèi | (older and younger) sisters |
| 妹子 | mèi zi | (dialect) younger sister |
| 堂妹 | táng mèi | younger female patrilineal cousin |
| 妹夫 | mèi fu | younger sister's husband |
| 小妹 | xiǎo mèi | little sister |
| 弟妹 | dì mèi | younger sibling |
| 表姐妹 | biǎo jiě mèi | female cousin through a female relative |
| 继妹 | jì mèi | younger stepsister |
| 打工妹 | dǎ gōng mèi | young female worker |
| 师妹 | shī mèi | junior female student or apprentice |
| 阿妹 | ā mèi | younger sister |
| 堂姊妹 | táng zǐ mèi | father's brother's daughters |
| 表妹夫 | biǎo mèi fu | husband of younger female cousin via female line |
妹 appears in 53 compound words: 11 as the first character, 74 as the last, and 15 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 妹 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
我妹妹今年上大学，学的是计算机专业。
Wǒ mèimei jīnnián shàng dàxué, xué de shì jìsuànjī zhuānyè.
My younger sister is going to college this year, majoring in computer science.
甜美正妹女警台中灯会站岗 一票网友恋爱了:想认识
tián měi zhèng mèi nǚ jǐng tái zhōng dēng huì zhàn gǎng yī piào wǎng yǒu liàn ài le : xiǎng rèn shí
The sweet girl policewoman stood guard at the Taichung Lantern Festival, and a vote of netizens fell in love: I want to get to know them
一家4兄妹都“满分” 牛淳赋学测获75级分
yī jiā 4 xiōng mèi dōu mǎn fēn niú chún fù xué cè huò 7 5 jí fēn
A family of 4 siblings all scored "full marks" Niu Chunfu scored 75 points
火鹤花田改种洋香瓜 父亲鼓励8年级生姊妹“不务正业”
huǒ hè huā tián gǎi zhǒng yáng xiāng guā fù qīn gǔ lì 8 nián jí shēng 姊 mèi bù wù zhèng yè
Fire Crane Flower Field Changed to Cantaloupe Father Encouraged 8th Grade Sisters to "Not Do Their Job"
...情! 「同款情侶帽、背景」爆熱戀74萬正妹網紅
. . . qíng ! tóng kuǎn qíng 侶 mào bèi jǐng bào 熱 戀 萬 zhèng mèi 網 紅
...Love! "Matching Couple Hats, Background" Sparks Frenzy: 740,000-Follower Beauty Influencer
...救災「替女童戴帽」!暖心士官長重回花蓮:妹妹長高了
. . . jiù 災 tì nǚ tóng dài mào ! nuǎn xīn shì guān 長 chóng huí huā 蓮 mèi mèi 長 gāo le
Rescue Mission: "Helping a Little Girl Put on Her Hat"! Heartwarming Sergeant Returns to Hualien: "My Little Sister Has Grown Taller"
你有多少个兄弟姊妹？
Nǐ yǒu duōshao gè xiōngdì zǐmèi?
How many siblings do you have?
你的妹妹念几年级？
Nǐ de mèimei niàn jǐnián jí?
What grade is your sister in?
你比你妹妹起得晚，不是么？
Nǐ bǐ nǐ mèimei qǐ de wǎn, bù shì me?
You don't get up as early as your sister, do you?
那是你姐姐还是妹妹？
Nàshi nǐ jiějie háishi mèimei?
Is your sister older than you?
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 妹 (mèi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 妹 and 味?
How many strokes does 妹 have?
What is the radical of 妹?
What are the components of 妹?
What are common words containing 妹?
What characters sound the same as 妹 (mèi)?
Is 妹 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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