迷 (mí) is a Chinese character meaning “to be lost”. It is written from 辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 米 (rice (uncooked grains)), one enclosing the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “to be lost; to lose one's way”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
辶 + 米
Enclosing structure
Structure from: IDS 拆分 ⿺辶米，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：迷共 9 笔，笔画 0–5 为「米」（点、撇、横、竖、撇、捺），笔画 6–8 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）；米 mǐ 与 迷 mí 声母韵母相同仅声调不同，判为声符
Memory aid
Both parts are really in this character: grains of rice (米) spilled along the road (辶). Follow the scattered grains instead of the road, and you end up 迷 — lost, and no longer sure which way is which.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 迷失mí shīto lose (one's way); to go astray迷 = mí
- 迷人mí réncharming; fascinating; enchanting迷 = mí
- 捉迷藏zhuō mí cánghide-and-seek迷 = mí
Go deeper
All readings
to be lost
to be lost; to lose one's way; to be confused; to be fascinated by; a fan (of something)
分辨不清方向或事理；也指对人或事物入了神、非常喜爱。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 迷失mí shīto lose (one's way); to go astray迷 = mí
- 迷人mí réncharming; fascinating; enchanting迷 = mí
- 捉迷藏zhuō mí cánghide-and-seek迷 = mí
Sound component
米 family tone diff
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 迷 mean?
迷 (mí) means to be lost; to lose one's way; to be confused; to be fascinated by; a fan (of something).
How do you pronounce 迷?
It is pronounced mí.
What parts is 迷 made of?
辶 (walk; go — the "movement" radical (chuò)) and 米 (rice (uncooked grains)), one enclosing the other. The recorded source is: IDS 拆分 ⿺辶米，并以 hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：迷共 9 笔，笔画 0–5 为「米」（点、撇、横、竖、撇、捺），笔画 6–8 为「辶」（点、横折折撇、平捺）；米 mǐ 与 迷 mí 声母韵母相同仅声调不同，判为声符. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 迷 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 迷?
辶. 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 迷?
Common ones are 迷失 and 迷人. The reading of 迷 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.