没 (méi) is a Chinese character meaning “not have”. It is written from 氵 (water (left-side form)) and 殳 (a hand holding a long-handled tool or weapon), side by side, and takes 7 strokes.
Build the character for “not have”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
氵 + 殳
Left–right structure
- 氵 water (left-side form) · shuǐ meaning
- 殳 a hand holding a long-handled tool or weapon · shū unknown
Structure from: modern-form decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data strokes (3 + 4 = 7)
Memory aid
Water (氵) on the left, a hand gripping a tool (殳) on the right: you reach in with the tool, and what you were looking for is not there any more.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
7 strokes
In real words
- 没有méi yǒunot have; there is not没 = méiHSK 1
- 没关系méi guān xìit doesn't matter; never mind没 = méispoken asméi guān xiHSK 1
Go deeper
All readings
not have
not have; there is not; used to negate 有 and to say something did not happen
表示不存在、不具有；也用来否定过去发生过的动作。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 没有méi yǒunot have; there is not没 = méiHSK 1
- 没关系méi guān xìit doesn't matter; never mind没 = méispoken asméi guān xiHSK 1
Rare readings, not taught: mò
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 没 mean?
没 (méi) means not have; there is not; used to negate 有 and to say something did not happen.
How do you pronounce 没?
It is pronounced méi.
What parts is 没 made of?
氵 (water (left-side form)) and 殳 (a hand holding a long-handled tool or weapon), side by side. The recorded source is: modern-form decomposition verified against hanzi-writer-data strokes (3 + 4 = 7). Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 没 have?
7. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 没?
水. 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 没?
Common ones are 没有 and 没关系. The reading of 没 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.