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咪 (mī) — (onomatopoeia) sound used to call a cat; meow-like call

Definition

咪 (mī) is an onomatopoeic call used to attract or imitate a cat — like saying 'psst' or 'here, kitty' rather than a literal cat sound. It is a bound form: it only appears as part of a longer utterance and is never used alone as a word.

onomatopoeia
sound used to call a catmeow-like call

Examples

  • ，咪。
    Tā dūn zài lù biān, duì zhe nà zhī māo jiào mī.
    He squatted by the roadside and called 'mī' to that cat.
  • ，“咪”。
    Xiǎo hái zi men xué māo jiào, zhī huì shuō "mī".
    Children imitating cats can only say 'mī'.
  • 咪，。
    Tīng dào wǒ jiào mī, nà zhī māo jiù pǎo le guò lái.
    Hearing me call 'mī', that cat came running.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
口口kǒumouth; speech
Sound part声符shēngfú
米
米mǐ咪
Same sound today

咪 combines 口 (mouth; speech) with 米, which gives the sound.

Appears in
Animals & Mammals2000 Most Frequent Chinese Words3000 Most Frequent Chinese Words5000 Most Frequent Chinese Words

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