梅

méi
noun #5,163

Meanings

  1. 1 plum
  2. 2 plum blossom

Examples

HSK 3
Méiyǔ jìjié kuài dào le.
The plum-rain season is almost here.
HSK 4
Dōngtiān de méihuā tèbié měi.
Plum blossoms in winter are especially beautiful.
HSK 6
Wǒ xǐhuan chī yángméi.
I like eating bayberries.

Tips

memory
木 (tree) + 每 (every) - the plum tree that blooms every winter.
culture
梅 is one of the 'Three Friends of Winter' (岁寒三友: 松竹梅, pine, bamboo, plum) - symbols of resilience because they thrive in cold. 梅花 also appears on the ROC (Taiwan) national emblem.

Components

radical
木 mù
tree; wood
Tree radical on the left makes the meaning explicit - 梅 names a specific tree, the plum. It indexes 梅 in the botanical family with 桃 peach, 杏 apricot, 李 plum (different sense), 柳 willow. Most fruit-bearing trees in Chinese sit on a 木 chassis with a phonetic giving the name.
phonetic
每 měi
every (here phonetic)
Right is 每 'every', supplying the sound - měi drifting to méi with tone shift. Same phonetic in 莓 berry, 霉 mold, 海 sea (originally měi-shifted), 悔 to regret. The plum's image as the tree that flowers every winter dovetails neatly with 每, giving learners an easy mnemonic: 'the every-winter tree.'

Stroke Order

梅 méi