皿 (mǐn): (bound form) dish, vessel, shallow container, radical no. 108

皿 (mǐn) is a Chinese character meaning “(bound form) dish.” Outside the HSK 3.0 syllabus (CLEC 2022), it is composed of 一 (structural). It ranks #3497 in character frequency (SUBTLEX-CH corpus).

Spoken pronunciation
Radical: 皿 dish5 strokesFrequency #3497一 structural

Definitions

  1. (bound form) dish
  2. vessel
  3. shallow container
  4. radical no. 108

Stroke Order

1
2
3
4
5

Practice writing 皿 with real-time feedback — trace each stroke in the correct order and build muscle memory in the HanziFeed app.

Words & Compounds

Common Compounds

WordPinyinMeaning
器皿nounqì mǐnhousehold utensils
培养皿nounpéi yǎng mǐnPetri dish
美耐皿nounměi nài mǐn(Tw) (loanword) melamine
3
Total compounds
0
As first character
100
As last character
0
As middle character

皿 appears in 3 compound words: 0 as the first character, 100 as the last, and 0 in a middle position. Compound statistics computed from SUBTLEX-CH and HSK 3.0 vocabulary data.

Example Sentences

中国新闻网·生活Aug 2026

很多人都爱穿的洞洞鞋,真的是“脚气培养皿”吗?

hěn duō rén dōu ài chuān de dòng dòng xié , zhēn de shì jiǎo qì péi yǎng mǐn ma ?

Are those hole-y shoes that so many people love to wear really “breeding grounds for athlete’s foot”?

中国新闻网·生活Jul 2026

注意事项 地黄煎煮不可接触铜、铁器皿,最好使用陶瓷、砂锅或玻璃炖盅。

zhù yì shì xiàng dì huáng jiān zhǔ bù kě jiē chù tóng , tiě qì mǐn , zuì hǎo shǐ yòng táo cí , shā guō huò bō lí dùn 盅 .

Precautions: When decocting Rehmannia, do not use copper or iron cookware; it is best to use ceramic, earthenware, or glass pots.

中国新闻网·生活Jul 2026

它从空气中依然能够吸取足够多的水分,那这样的话,它依然能够成为细菌的一个培养皿。

tā cóng kōng qì zhōng yī rán néng gòu xī qǔ zú gòu duō de shuǐ fēn , nà zhè yàng de huà , tā yī rán néng gòu chéng wéi xì jūn de yī gè péi yǎng mǐn .

Since it can still absorb enough moisture from the air, it can still serve as a breeding ground for bacteria.

中国新闻网·文化Jun 2026

从传统的器皿到现代感十足的工艺品,产品种类多达70余种。

cóng chuán tǒng de qì mǐn dào xiàn dài gǎn shí zú de gōng yì pǐn , chǎn pǐn zhǒng lèi duō dá 7 0 yú zhǒng .

From traditional tableware to contemporary crafts, the product line includes more than 70 varieties.

中国新闻网·文化Jun 2026

经过一次次氧化还原,柴烧器皿能让茶汤更甘甜,且每件作品都独一无二。

jīng guò yī cì cì yǎng huà hái yuán , chái shāo qì mǐn néng ràng chá tāng gèng gān tián , qiě měi jiàn zuò pǐn dōu dú yī wú èr .

Through repeated oxidation and reduction processes, wood-fired pottery imparts a sweeter flavor to the tea, and each piece is one-of-a-kind.

Character Family

Frequently Asked Questions

What does 皿 (mǐn) mean in Chinese?
皿 (mǐn) primarily means "(bound form) dish." It is not part of the HSK 3.0 syllabus. It ranks #3497 in character frequency.
What's the difference between 皿 and 深?
皿 (mǐn) and 深 (shēn) are often confused. antonym. The key distinguishing feature: 皿 (shallow) vs 深 (deep).
How many strokes does 皿 have?
皿 is written with 5 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 皿?
The radical associated with 皿 is 皿 (dish). This radical appears in many characters related to dish.
What are the components of 皿?
皿 is composed of: 一 (structural). Understanding the components helps with both memorization and recognizing related characters.
What are common words containing 皿?
Common words with 皿 include: 器皿 (qì mǐn, "household utensils"); 培养皿 (péi yǎng mǐn, "Petri dish"); 美耐皿 (měi nài mǐn, "(Tw) (loanword) melamine"). There are over 3 compound words containing this character.
Is 皿 the same in simplified and traditional Chinese?
Yes, 皿 is written the same way in both simplified and traditional Chinese.

Practice writing 皿 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.