霉 (méi): mold

霉 (méi) is a Chinese character meaning “mold.” Classified as HSK Level 7-9 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 雨 (semantic) and 每 (phonetic). It ranks #2347 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Etymologically derived, 霉 rain. Its radical form 雨 (rain) appears in many related characters such as 雨 (yǔ, rain), 零 (líng, zero), 雪 (xuě, snow).

Native pronunciation

HSK 7-9 Radical: 雨 rain15 strokesFrequency #2347雨 semantic 每 phonetic

Definitions

mold

Etymology & Origin

霉

pictophoneticrain

Decomposition: ⿱雨每 (layout: top-bottom)

Components:雨semantic 每phonetic

Stroke Order

Practice writing 霉 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
倒霉	dǎo méi	to have bad luck
霉菌	méi jūn	mold
发霉	fā méi	to become moldy
青霉素	qīng méi sù	(pharmacology) penicillin
红霉素	hóng méi sù	(pharmacology) erythromycin
黄曲霉菌	huáng qū méi jūn	Aspergillus flavus (fungus typically found on crops)
氯霉素	lǜ méi sù	(pharmacology) chloramphenicol
林可霉素	lín kě méi sù	(pharmacology) lincomycin
克林霉素	kè lín méi sù	(pharmacology) clindamycin
阿奇霉素	ā qí méi sù	(pharmacology) azithromycin
倒霉蛋儿	dǎo méi dàn r	erhua variant of 倒霉蛋[dao3 mei2 dan4]
新霉素	xīn méi sù	(pharmacology) neomycin
庆大霉素	qìng dà méi sù	(pharmacology) gentamicin
金霉素	jīn méi sù	(pharmacology) chlortetracycline
黄曲霉毒素	huáng qū méi dú sù	aflatoxin

Total compounds

As first character

As last character

As middle character

霉 appears in 38 compound words: 29 as the first character, 16 as the last, and 55 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 霉 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.

素sù

0.5818,280 co-occurrences

菌jūn

0.5542,568 co-occurrences

倒dǎo

0.4992,199 co-occurrences

青qīng

0.4482,874 co-occurrences

蛀zhù

0.42030 co-occurrences

帚zhǒu

0.41542 co-occurrences

链liàn

0.4041,116 co-occurrences

橘jú

0.403192 co-occurrences

粪fèn

0.40048 co-occurrences

烂làn

0.39778 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (1)

黄曲霉菌huángqūméijūnHSK 7+

Aspergillus flavus

noun

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

潮湿的天气容易发霉，要保持室内通风。

Cháoshī de tiānqì róngyì fāméi, yào bǎochí shìnèi tōngfēng.

Humid weather is prone to mold; keep indoor ventilation.

HketMar 2026

公屋热话|获派“发霉”公屋质疑房署完全冇维修租户怒轰5宗罪...

gōng wū rè huà huò pài fā méi gōng wū zhì yí fáng shǔ wán quán 冇 wéi xiū zū hù nù hōng 5 zōng zuì . . .

Public Housing Hot Topic | Tenant Assigned "Moldy" Public Housing Unit Accuses Housing Authority of Complete Lack of Maintenance; Tenant Lists Five Grievances...

大紀元 | 大紀元新聞網Mar 2026

保温瓶、冷气、浴室怎么清?居家精油除霉诀窍

bǎo wēn píng , lěng qì , yù shì zěn má qīng ? jū jiā jīng yóu chú méi jué qiào

How to Clean Thermoses, Air Conditioners, and Bathrooms? Tips for Removing Mold with Essential Oils at Home

TvbsMar 2026

湿热开冷气有霉味?专家教1招免费解决这温度是关键

shī rè kāi lěng qì yǒu méi wèi ? zhuān jiā jiào 1 zhāo miǎn fèi jiě jué zhè wēn dù shì guān jiàn

Is there a musty smell when the air conditioner is turned on in hot and humid heat? Experts teach 1 trick to solve this temperature is the key

NewsFeb 2026

水果发霉了,切掉发霉的部分还能吃吗?

shuǐ guǒ fā méi le , qiē diào fā méi de bù fēn hái néng chī ma ?

The fruit is moldy, can you still eat it if you cut off the moldy part?

UdnnewsindexFeb 2026

桃園某知名遭離職員工指控水果發霉竟擦掉後重新上架賣

táo 園 mǒu zhī míng zāo 離職員 gōng zhǐ kòng shuǐ guǒ 發 méi jìng cā diào 後 chóng xīn shàng jià 賣

A well-known person in Taoyuan was accused by a resigned employee of wiping off the moldy fruit and putting it back on the shelves for sale

Tatoeba

台子上有个发霉的面包。

Táizi shàng yǒu gè fāméi de miànbāo.

A moldy loaf of bread lay on the table.

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 霉 (méi) mean in Chinese?

霉 (méi) primarily means "mold." It is classified as HSK Level 7-9, making it an expert-level character. It ranks #2347 in character frequency.

What's the difference between 霉 and 海?

霉 (méi) and 海 (hǎi) are often confused. confusable. The key distinguishing feature: 雨 vs 氵 (same 每 component).

How many strokes does 霉 have?

霉 is written with 15 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 霉?

The radical associated with 霉 is 雨 (rain). This radical appears in many characters related to rain.

What are the components of 霉?

霉 is composed of: 雨 (semantic), 每 (phonetic). Its IDS decomposition is ⿱雨每 with a top-bottom layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.

What are common words containing 霉?

Common words with 霉 include: 倒霉 (dǎo méi, "to have bad luck"); 霉菌 (méi jūn, "mold"); 发霉 (fā méi, "to become moldy"); 青霉素 (qīng méi sù, "(pharmacology) penicillin"); 红霉素 (hóng méi sù, "(pharmacology) erythromycin"). There are over 38 compound words containing this character.

What characters sound the same as 霉 (méi)?

Several characters share the pronunciation méi: 梅 (plum), 没 ((negative prefix for verbs) have not), 枚 (classifier for small objects: coins, badges, rings, carved seals, chess pieces, eggs, fingerprints etc (more formal than 個|个)), 玫 ((fine jade)), and 3 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.

Is 霉 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?

Yes, 霉 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

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