枚 (méi): classifier for small objects: coins, badges, rings, carved seals, chess pieces, eggs, fingerprints etc (more formal than 個|个), classifier for bombs, missiles, satellites etc, (on product packaging) classifier for flat items (from Japanese 枚 "mai")
枚 (méi) is a Chinese character meaning “classifier for small objects: coins, badges, rings, carved seals, chess pieces, eggs, fingerprints etc (more formal than 個|个).” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 木 (semantic) and 攵 (phonetic). It ranks #1863 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 枚 tree. Its radical form 木 (tree) appears in many related characters such as 本 (běn, (bound form) root), 机 (jī, machine, opportunity), 条 (tiáo, strip).
Definitions
- classifier for small objects: coins, badges, rings, carved seals, chess pieces, eggs, fingerprints etc (more formal than 個|个)
- classifier for bombs, missiles, satellites etc
- (on product packaging) classifier for flat items (from Japanese 枚 "mai")
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 枚 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 不胜枚举 | bù shèng méi jǔ | too numerous to mention individually or one by one |
| 不可枚举 | bù kě méi jǔ | innumerable (idiom) |
| 马工枚速 | mǎ gōng méi sù | Sima Xiangru is meticulous and Mei Gao is fast (idiom) |
| 枚举 | méi jǔ | to enumerate |
| 枚乘 | méi chéng | Mei Cheng (-c. 140 BC), Han dynasty poet |
| 猜枚 | cāi méi | drinking game where one has to guess the number of small objects in the other player's closed hand |
| 钳马衔枚 | qián mǎ xián méi | with horses and soldiers gagged (idiom) |
| 枚卜 | méi bǔ | to choose officials by divination (archaic) |
| 袁枚 | yuán méi | Yuan Mei (1716–1797), Qing poet, essayist and gastronome, one of the Three Great Masters of the Qianlong-Jiaqing peri... |
枚 appears in 9 compound words: 33 as the first character, 33 as the last, and 33 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 枚 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (4)
Sima Xiangru is meticulous and Mei Gao is fast (idiom); to each his good points
Sima Xiangru is meticulous and Mei Gao is fast (idiom); to each his good points
Example Sentences
工人们正在砍伐病枚，防止虫害蔓延。
gōng rén men zhēng zài kǎn fá bìng méi , fáng zhǐ chóng hài mán yán .
Workers are cutting down diseased trees to prevent the spread of pests.
...00晶片出口设限 单一中企最多买7.5万枚 不及阿里字节跳动采购意愿的一半
. . . 0 0 jīng piàn chū kǒu shè xiàn dān yī zhōng qǐ zuì duō mǎi 7 . 5 wàn méi bù jí ā lǐ zì jié tiào dòng cǎi gòu yì yuàn de yī bàn
... 00 chip export restrictions A single Chinese company can buy up to 75,000 chips, less than half of Alibaba ByteDance's willingness to purchase
一周星星|重温“震波枚”张继聪禁女儿观看 自 陈家乐被连诗雅大...
yī zhōu xīng xīng chóng wēn zhèn bō méi zhāng jì cōng jīn nǚ ér guàn kàn zì chén jiā lè bèi lián shī yǎ dà . . .
A week of stars|Relive the "shockwave medal" Zhang Jicong forbid his daughter to watch since Chen Jiale was lian Shiya...
...在里面!官邸被“炸成废墟”焦黑照曝 30枚炸弹狂轰
. . . zài lǐ miàn ! guān 邸 bèi zhà chéng fèi xū jiāo hēi zhào pù 3 0 méi zhà dàn kuáng hōng
... Inside! The official residence was "blown into ruins" and 30 bombs were exposed
终于等到瓮中抓鳖!30枚炸弹轰哈米尼藏身住所 死前正在开高层会议
zhōng yú děng dào 瓮 zhōng zhuā 鳖 ! 3 0 méi zhà dàn hōng hā mǐ ní zàng shēn zhù suǒ sǐ qián zhèng zài kāi gāo céng huì yì
Finally waited to catch the turtle in the urn! 30 bombs bombed Hamini's hiding place and was holding a high-level meeting before his death
特朗普称美军已开始对伊朗军事打击 据报多枚导弹击中总统府及哈梅内伊官邸附近
tè lǎng pǔ chèn měi jūn yǐ kāi shǐ duì yī lǎng jūn shì dǎ jī jù bào duō méi dǎo dàn jī zhōng zǒng tǒng fǔ jí hā méi nèi yī guān 邸 fù jìn
Trump said the U.S. military has begun military strikes on Iran A number of missiles reportedly hit the presidential palace and near Khamenei's official residence
宝石师傅在胸针上镶了一枚大珍珠。
Bǎoshí shīfu zài xiōngzhēn shàng xiāng le yī méi dà zhēnzhū.
The jeweler mounted a big pearl in the brooch.
我需要先放一枚硬币吗？
Wǒ xūyào xiān fàng yī méi yìngbì ma?
Do I need to put a coin in first?
克里斯取得了七枚金幣！
Kè lǐ sī qǔdé le qī méi jīnbì!
Chris gets 7 gold coins!
我找到一个装有几枚古钱币的锅子。
Wǒ zhǎodào yī gè zhuāngyǒu jǐ méi gǔ qiánbì de guōzi.
I found a pot in which there were several old coins.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 枚 (méi) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 枚 and 大?
How many strokes does 枚 have?
What is the radical of 枚?
What are the components of 枚?
What are common words containing 枚?
What characters sound the same as 枚 (méi)?
Is 枚 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 枚 with real-time feedback
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