Chinese word

妹

Pronunciation

Pinyinmèi

Meaning

  • nounyounger sister

Example

我妹很可爱。wǒ mèi hěn kě ài

My younger sister is very cute.

Illustration for 妹 (younger sister)

More examples

晚饭时我和妹一起吃。wǎn fàn shí wǒ hé mèi yì qǐ chī

At dinner, my younger sister and I eat together.

Core concept

A younger female sibling in a family, with age as part of the relationship.

Common phrases

  • 和妹一起吃饭hé mèi yì qǐ chī fàn

    have a meal with one's younger sister

  • 看妹的照片kàn mèi de zhào piān

    look at one's younger sister's picture

Similar words

妹妹mèi mèi: A common spoken term for a younger sister.
姐姐jié jiě: An older female sibling in the family.
弟弟dì di: A younger male sibling in the family.
哥哥gē gē: An older male sibling in the family.

Definition in Chinese

比自己年纪小的女性亲属，通常指同父母或同一家庭中年龄较小的姐妹。bǐ zì jǐ nián jì xiǎo de nǚ xìng qīn shǔ tōng cháng zhǐ tóng fù mǔ huò tóng yì jiā tíng zhōng nián líng jiào xiǎo de jiě mèi

Word origin

The character 妹 (mèi, "younger sister") combines 女 (nǚ, "female") with 未 (wèi, "not yet") as a phonetic element, so 女 marks the female sense while 未 mainly supplies the sound.

Usage tips

  • English uses sister for both older and younger siblings, but this Chinese family term itself shows that the female sibling is younger.

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word