埋 (mái) is a Chinese character meaning “to bury”. It is written from 土 (earth; soil) and 里 (inside; li (unit of distance)), side by side, and takes 10 strokes.
Build the character for “to bury”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
土 + 里
Left–right structure
Structure from: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（土3画 + 里7画 = 10画）
Memory aid
Earth (土) piled over what lies inside (里): whatever is down in there is buried.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
10 strokes
In real words
- 埋伏mái fúto ambush; to lie in wait埋 = mái
- 埋头mái tóuto immerse oneself in; to bury oneself in (work, study)埋 = mái
- 埋葬mái zàngto bury埋 = mái
Go deeper
All readings
to bury
to bury; to cover up with earth; to hide; to conceal
用土、雪、落叶等盖住；也指隐藏起来。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 埋伏mái fúto ambush; to lie in wait埋 = mái
- 埋头mái tóuto immerse oneself in; to bury oneself in (work, study)埋 = mái
- 埋葬mái zàngto bury埋 = mái
Rare readings, not taught: mán
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 埋 mean?
埋 (mái) means to bury; to cover up with earth; to hide; to conceal.
How do you pronounce 埋?
It is pronounced mái.
What parts is 埋 made of?
土 (earth; soil) and 里 (inside; li (unit of distance)), side by side. The recorded source is: 现代字形拆分，经 hanzi-writer-data 笔画数据核验（土3画 + 里7画 = 10画）. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 埋 have?
10. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 埋?
土. 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 埋?
Common ones are 埋伏 and 埋头. The reading of 埋 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.