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).

Spoken pronunciation

Definitions

  1. generic term for cotton or kapok
  2. cotton
  3. padded or quilted with cotton

Etymology & Origin

棉

ideographicSilk 帛 picked off a tree 木

Decomposition: ⿰木帛 (layout: left-right)

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

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

WordPinyinMeaning
棉花nounmián huacotton
石棉nounshí miánasbestos
卫生棉nounwèi shēng miánsterilized absorbent cotton wool (used for dressings or cleansing wounds)
棉布nounmián bùcotton cloth
高棉proper-noungāo miánCambodia
棉被nounmián bèicomforter
棉纱nounmián shācotton yarn
棉絮nounmián xùcotton wadding
硝化棉xiāo huà miánnitrocellulose
棉裤mián kùquilted cotton trousers
棉线nounmián xiàncotton thread
棉衣nounmián yīcotton-padded clothes
纯棉nounchún miánpure cotton
棉田mián tiáncotton field
脱脂棉tuō zhī miánabsorbent cotton
45
Total compounds
53
As first character
29
As last character
18
As middle character

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.

纺fǎng
0.5901,158 co-occurrences
花huā
0.5679,406 co-occurrences
籽zǐ
0.540340 co-occurrences
纱shā
0.506310 co-occurrences
糖táng
0.5011,422 co-occurrences
絮xù
0.463232 co-occurrences
红hóng
0.4551,616 co-occurrences
裤kù
0.44471 co-occurrences
厂chǎng
0.433982 co-occurrences
木mù
0.4252,094 co-occurrences

Idioms & Chengyu (1)

红色高棉Hóngsè GāomiánHSK 6+

Khmer Rouge

Example Sentences

AI-Generated

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.

中国新闻网·文化Aug 2026

他梦到过母亲想要一件红棉袄。

tā mèng dào guò mǔ qīn xiǎng yāo yī jiàn hóng mián 袄 .

He once dreamed that his mother wanted a red cotton-padded jacket.

中国新闻网·生活Aug 2026

应急药盒:止血带、碘伏、棉棒、酒精棉片、广谱抗生素,以及家人常用药。

yīng jí yào hé : zhǐ xiě dài , 碘 fú , mián bàng , jiǔ jīng mián piàn , guǎng pǔ kàng shēng sù , yǐ jí jiā rén cháng yòng yào .

First-aid kit: tourniquet, povidone-iodine solution, cotton swabs, alcohol wipes, broad-spectrum antibiotics, and medications commonly used by family members.

少数派Aug 2026

一双适合慢跑的鞋子,运动短裤短衣,不要穿带棉料的衣服裤子,汗多味重。

yī shuāng shì gě màn pǎo de xié zǐ , yùn dòng duǎn kù duǎn yī , bù yāo chuān dài mián liào de yī fú kù zǐ , hàn duō wèi chóng .

A pair of running shoes, athletic shorts, and a T-shirt; avoid wearing clothes or pants made with cotton, as they absorb sweat and retain odors.

The Beijing NewsMar 2026

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...

99 健康网Mar 2026

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?

Tatoeba

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.

Tatoeba

这件罩衫是棉的。

Zhè jiàn zhàoshān shì mián de.

This blouse is cotton.

Tatoeba

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

Homophones — Characters pronounced mián

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 棉 (mián) mean in Chinese?
棉 (mián) primarily means "generic term for cotton or kapok." It is classified as HSK Level 6, making it an advanced character. It ranks #1940 in character frequency.
How many strokes does 棉 have?
棉 is written with 12 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 棉?
The radical associated with 棉 is 木 (tree). This radical appears in many characters related to tree.
What are the components of 棉?
棉 is composed of: 木 (structural), 帛 (structural). Its IDS decomposition is ⿰木帛 with a left-right layout. Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 棉?
Common words with 棉 include: 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"). There are over 45 compound words containing this character.
What characters sound the same as 棉 (mián)?
Several characters share the pronunciation mián: 面 (face), 免 (to excuse sb), 眠 (to sleep), 勉 (to exhort), and 2 more. Context and tones help distinguish between them in speech and writing.
Is 棉 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 棉 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 棉 with real-time feedback

Trace stroke sequences, hear spoken pronunciation, and build lasting retention with spaced repetition in the HanziFeed app.

Character data sourced from Unihan (Unicode Consortium), SUBTLEX-CH frequency corpus (Cai & Brysbaert, 2010), and Make Me a Hanzi (stroke data). Collocation strength measured via NPMI (Normalized Pointwise Mutual Information). Verified by the HanziFeed linguistics team.

HSK classification follows the HSK 3.0 Standard (Center for Language Education and Cooperation, CLEC, 2022 revision). Idiom data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).

Data last verified: March 2026.