妹 mèi younger sister
How to remember 妹: 女 woman + 未 not yet = younger sister. The woman gets into the concert, but the bouncer says "Not yet, come back in three years" to her younger sister.
Component breakdown
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
妹 = 女 woman + 未 not yet
- 女 woman meaning
- 未 not yet sound
The woman gets into the concert, but the bouncer says "Not yet, come back in three years" to her younger sister.
How it came to be
The oldest form already has the woman for the meaning and the other part for the sound.
How it is used
- 'Younger sister', chiefly doubled as 妹妹 (mèimei): 我妹 (wǒ mèi) my little sister.
- 姐妹 (jiěmèi) means sisters collectively.
- Like the brother pair, Chinese marks age: 妹妹 is specifically the younger sister, versus 姐姐 (jiějie) the elder.
Words with 妹
Example sentences
- 妹妹八岁了。 Mèimei bā suì le.My younger sister is eight years old.
- 姐妹俩长得很像。 Jiěmèi liǎ zhǎng de hěn xiàng.The sister look very much alike.
- 这两姐妹长得一模一样。 Zhè liǎng jiěmèi zhǎng de yìmú yíyàng.The two sisters look exactly the same.