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妹妹 (mèi mei) — younger sister

Definition

Family term for 'younger sister' — the female counterpart to 弟弟. Mandarin adds 妹 for female, 弟 for male, so 姐姐/妹妹 pair with 哥哥/弟弟 by age and sex.

noun
younger sister
Measure word · 个

Examples

  • 妹妹。
    Wǒ yǒu mèi mei.
    I have a younger sister.
  • 妹妹。
    Wǒ de mèi mei hěn kě ài.
    My younger sister is very cute.
  • 妹妹。
    mèi mei Xiǎng hē shuǐ.
    Younger sister wants to drink water.

Origin

Reduplicated word
构词法gòucífǎ
重叠chóngdiéReduplication

A syllable said twice — for affection, for softness, or simply because that is how the word is said.

妹mèiyounger sister
妹mèiyounger sister

The two 妹 together form the familiar word for a younger sister.

Characters in this word

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
女女nǚfemale, woman
Sound part声符shēngfú
未
未wèi妹mèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

妹 combines 女, a woman, with 未, which gives the sound.

Open 妹 →

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
女女nǚfemale, woman
Sound part声符shēngfú
未
未wèi妹mèi
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

妹 combines 女, a woman, with 未, which gives the sound.

Open 妹 →
Appears in
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