孟 (mèng) is a Chinese character meaning “eldest (of siblings)”. It is written from 子 (child; son) and 皿 (dish; vessel), one above the other, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “eldest”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
子 + 皿
Top–bottom structure
Structure from: 说文解字：孟，長也。从子皿聲（现代字形 IDS ⿱子皿；笔画核验 子3 + 皿5 = 8）
Memory aid
A child (子) sitting on top of a dish (皿). Both parts are really in this character — picture the eldest child, the one already allowed to hold the family bowl.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 孟子mèng zǐMencius (the philosopher, and the book of his sayings)孟 = mèng
- 孔孟kǒng mèngConfucius and Mencius (the two central Confucian thinkers)孟 = mèng
Go deeper
All readings
eldest; surname Meng
eldest (of siblings); first month of a season; a Chinese surname, best known from the philosopher Mencius
兄弟姊妹中排行最大的；一季中的第一个月；姓氏，最有名的是思想家孟子。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 孟子mèng zǐMencius (the philosopher, and the book of his sayings)孟 = mèng
- 孔孟kǒng mèngConfucius and Mencius (the two central Confucian thinkers)孟 = mèng
Sound component
皿 family rime near
Easy to confuse with
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 孟 mean?
孟 (mèng) means eldest (of siblings); first month of a season; a Chinese surname, best known from the philosopher Mencius.
How do you pronounce 孟?
It is pronounced mèng.
What parts is 孟 made of?
子 (child; son) and 皿 (dish; vessel), one above the other. The recorded source is: 说文解字：孟，長也。从子皿聲（现代字形 IDS ⿱子皿；笔画核验 子3 + 皿5 = 8）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 孟 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 孟?
子. 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 孟?
Common ones are 孟子 and 孔孟. The reading of 孟 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.