妹 (mèi) is a Chinese character meaning “younger sister”. It is written from 女 (woman; female) and 未 (not yet; have not), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “younger sister”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
女 + 未
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字：妹，女弟也。从女，未声
Memory aid
女 (woman) on the left tells you this word is about a female family member. 未 (wèi, "not yet") on the right is not about waiting — it is carrying the sound: wèi → mèi. Both parts are really in this character; only their jobs differ.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 妹妹mèi mèiyounger sister妹 = mèispoken asmèi mei
- 姐妹jiě mèisisters妹 = mèi
- 姊妹zǐ mèisisters妹 = mèi
Go deeper
All readings
younger sister
younger sister; a girl of one's own generation but younger
妹妹；同辈中年纪比自己小的女性。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 妹妹mèi mèiyounger sister妹 = mèispoken asmèi mei
- 姐妹jiě mèisisters妹 = mèi
- 姊妹zǐ mèisisters妹 = mèi
Sound component
未 family onset shift
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 妹 mean?
妹 (mèi) means younger sister; a girl of one's own generation but younger.
How do you pronounce 妹?
It is pronounced mèi.
What parts is 妹 made of?
女 (woman; female) and 未 (not yet; have not), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字：妹，女弟也。从女，未声. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 妹 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 妹?
女. 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 妹?
Common ones are 妹妹 and 姐妹. The reading of 妹 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.