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noun | xiōng mèi | brother(s) and sister(s) |
| 表妹noun | biǎo mèi | younger female cousin through a female relative |
| 姊妹noun | zǐ mèi | (older and younger) sisters |
| 妹子noun | mèi zi | (dialect) younger sister |
| 堂妹noun | táng mèi | younger female patrilineal cousin |
| 妹夫noun | mèi fu | younger sister's husband |
| 小妹noun | xiǎo mèi | little sister |
| 弟妹noun | dì mèi | younger sibling |
| 表姐妹noun | biǎo jiě mèi | female cousin through a female relative |
| 继妹noun | jì mèi | younger stepsister |
| 打工妹noun | dǎ gōng mèi | young female worker |
| 师妹noun | shī mèi | junior female student or apprentice |
| 阿妹noun | ā mèi | younger sister |
| 胞妹 | bāo mèi | younger sister born to the same parents |
| 堂姊妹noun | táng zǐ mèi | father's brother's daughters |
妹 appears in 59 compound words: 10 as the first character, 75 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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