咪 (mī) is a Chinese character meaning “meow”. It is written from 口 (mouth) and 米 (rice (uncooked grains)), side by side, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “meow”
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Structure
口 + 米
Left–right structure
Structure from: IDS 拆分 ⿰口米，以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「口」，笔画 3–8 与「米」逐笔对应（3+6=9画）；「口」为义符（拟声字口部），「米」mǐ 与 咪 mī 同声母同韵、仅声调不同，作声符
Memory aid
A mouth (口) next to rice (米): the small sound a cat makes at its bowl — mī. 米 is only lending its sound here, mǐ.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 咪咪mī mīkitty; the sound used to call a cat咪 = mī
Go deeper
All readings
meow
meow; the sound a cat makes, and the sound used to call a cat
猫叫的声音；也用来唤猫。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 咪咪mī mīkitty; the sound used to call a cat咪 = mī
Sound component
米 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 咪 mean?
咪 (mī) means meow; the sound a cat makes, and the sound used to call a cat.
How do you pronounce 咪?
It is pronounced mī.
What parts is 咪 made of?
口 (mouth) and 米 (rice (uncooked grains)), side by side. The recorded source is: IDS 拆分 ⿰口米，以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 0–2 为「口」，笔画 3–8 与「米」逐笔对应（3+6=9画）；「口」为义符（拟声字口部），「米」mǐ 与 咪 mī 同声母同韵、仅声调不同，作声符. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 咪 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 咪?
口. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 咪?
Common ones are 咪咪. The reading of 咪 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.