棉 (mián): generic term for cotton or kapok, cotton, padded or quilted with cotton
棉 (mián) is a Chinese character meaning “generic term for cotton or kapok.” Classified as HSK Level 6 (HSK 3.0 Standard, CLEC 2022), it is composed of 木 (structural) and 帛 (structural). It ranks #1940 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).
Etymologically derived, 棉 silk 帛 picked off a tree 木. 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
- generic term for cotton or kapok
- cotton
- padded or quilted with cotton
Etymology & Origin
ideographicSilk 帛 picked off a tree 木
Decomposition: ⿰木帛 (layout: left-right)
Stroke Order
Practice writing 棉 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 棉花 | mián hua | cotton |
| 石棉 | shí mián | asbestos |
| 卫生棉 | wèi shēng mián | sterilized absorbent cotton wool (used for dressings or cleansing wounds) |
| 棉布 | mián bù | cotton cloth |
| 高棉 | gāo mián | Cambodia |
| 棉被 | mián bèi | comforter |
| 棉纱 | mián shā | cotton yarn |
| 棉絮 | mián xù | cotton wadding |
| 硝化棉 | xiāo huà mián | nitrocellulose |
| 棉裤 | mián kù | quilted cotton trousers |
| 棉线 | mián xiàn | cotton thread |
| 棉衣 | mián yī | cotton-padded clothes |
| 纯棉 | chún mián | pure cotton |
| 棉田 | mián tián | cotton field |
| 脱脂棉 | tuō zhī mián | absorbent cotton |
棉 appears in 45 compound words: 53 as the first character, 29 as the last, and 18 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 棉 in natural Chinese text, ranked by NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information) — a statistical measure of association strength.
Idioms & Chengyu (1)
Example Sentences
秋风起，棉叶变黄，铺满了林间小路。
qiū fēng qǐ , mián xié biàn huáng , pù mǎn le lín jiān xiǎo lù .
Autumn winds rise, Cotton leaves turn yellow, Spreading across the forest paths.
全棉时代京东超级品牌日 代言人张凌赫空降京东...
quán mián shí dài jīng dōng chāo jí pǐn pái rì dài yán rén zhāng líng hè kōng jiàng jīng dōng . . .
All-Cotton Era's JD Super Brand Day: Brand Ambassador Zhang Linghe Makes a Surprise Appearance on JD...
妇科白斑怎么治疗才能彻底根除?穿纯棉内裤减少摩擦刺激吗
fù kē bái bān zěn má zhì liáo cái néng chè de gēn chú ? chuān chún mián nèi kù jiǎn shǎo mó cā cì jī ma
How can vaginal leukoplakia be completely cured? Does wearing 100% cotton underwear help reduce friction and irritation?
有一天我买了一台棉花糖机。
Yǒu yī tiān wǒ mǎi le yī tái miánhuātáng jī.
Someday I'll buy a cotton candy machine.
这件罩衫是棉的。
Zhè jiàn zhàoshān shì mián de.
This blouse is cotton.
3个马来西亚侨民与一个菲律宾国民在棉兰老岛达沃市爆炸里被炸死了。
3 gè Mǎláixīyà qiáomín yǔ yī gè Fēilǜbīn guómín zài Miánlánlǎo Dǎo dá wò shì bàozhà lǐ bèi zhàsǐ le.
3 Malay nationals and a Filipino were killed in the Davao bombing on Mindanao.
Character Family
Frequently Asked Questions
What does 棉 (mián) mean in Chinese?
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What characters sound the same as 棉 (mián)?
Is 棉 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
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