靡 (mí): to waste (money), extravagant, go with fashion
靡 (mí) is a Chinese character meaning “to waste (money).” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 麻 (phonetic) and 非 (semantic). It ranks #3092 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 靡 wrong. Its radical form 非 (wrong) appears in many related characters such as 非 (fēi, to not be), 靠 (kào, to lean against or on).
Definitions
- to waste (money)
- extravagant
- go with fashion
Etymology & Origin
Stroke Order
Practice writing 靡 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 所向披靡 | suǒ xiàng pī mǐ | (idiom) to sweep everything before one |
| 风靡verb | fēng mǐ | fashionable |
| 萎靡adjective | wěi mǐ | listless |
| 风靡一时 | fēng mǐ yī shí | fashionable for a while (idiom) |
| 萎靡不振phrase | wěi mǐ bù zhèn | dispirited and listless (idiom) |
| 奢靡adjective | shē mí | extravagant |
| 靡靡之音 | mǐ mǐ zhī yīn | (idiom) decadent music |
| 靡不有初，鲜克有终 | mǐ bù yǒu chū , xiǎn kè yǒu zhōng | almost everything has a start, but not many things have an end (idiom) |
| 委靡不振 | wěi mǐ bù zhèn | variant of 萎靡不振 |
| 夸多斗靡 | kuā duō dòu mǐ | (idiom) to use literary phrases in one's writing to show off one's erudition |
| 靡有孑遗 | mǐ yǒu jié yí | all dead and no survivors |
| 靡费verb | mí fèi | to waste |
| 华靡adjective | huá mí | luxurious |
| 委靡 | wěi mǐ | variant of 萎靡 |
| 靡烂 | mí làn | rotting |
靡 appears in 20 compound words: 25 as the first character, 60 as the last, and 15 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.
Idioms & Chengyu (7)
(idiom) to use literary phrases in one's writing to show off one's erudition
(idiom) to use literary phrases in one's writing to show off one's erudition
Example Sentences
第一部分“天命靡常 礼乐传世”还原了孔子生活的时代背景。
dì yī bù fēn tiān mìng mí cháng lǐ lè chuán shì hái yuán le kǒng zǐ shēng huó de shí dài bèi jǐng .
Part One, “The Mandate of Heaven Is Ever-Changing; Rites and Music Endure Through the Ages,” reconstructs the historical context of Confucius’s life.
一切似乎都诉说着这个球队的所向披靡。
yī qiē sì hū dōu sù shuō zhe zhè gè qiú duì de suǒ xiàng pī mí .
Everything seems to point to this team's unstoppable momentum.
风靡世界的驾驶动作游戏完全新作，等你来体验。
fēng mí shì jiè de jià shǐ dòng zuò yóu xì wán quán xīn zuò , děng nǐ lái tǐ yàn .
A brand-new installment in the globally popular driving action game series—come experience it for yourself.
这一年，“哪吒”风靡全球，动画电影迎来“井喷式”发展。
zhè yī nián , nǎ zhā fēng mí quán qiú , dòng huà diàn yǐng yíng lái jǐng pēn shì fā zhǎn .
This year, “Ne Zha” took the world by storm, and the animated film industry experienced explosive growth.
电子屏幕蓝光抑制褪黑素分泌，引发入睡困难、作息颠倒、日间精神萎靡。
diàn zǐ píng mù lán guāng yì zhì tuì hēi sù fēn mì , yǐn fā rù shuì kùn nán , zuò xī diān dǎo , rì jiān jīng shén wěi mí .
The blue light emitted by electronic screens suppresses melatonin secretion, leading to difficulty falling asleep, disrupted sleep patterns, and daytime lethargy.
Character Family
Semantic Family — Characters sharing the 非 (wrong) component
非 Radical Family — Characters sharing the wrong radical
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 靡 (mí) mean in Chinese?
What's the difference between 靡 and 来?
How many strokes does 靡 have?
What is the radical of 靡?
What are the components of 靡?
What are common words containing 靡?
Is 靡 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Practice writing 靡 with real-time feedback
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