Definitions

méi (noun) matchmaker; go-between
méi (noun) medium; intermediary
méi (noun) media (esp. news media)

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. represents the meaning and represents the sound.

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

The character "媒" is structurally composed of the semantic radical "女", indicating female, and the phonetic component "某", which aligns with its initial historical meaning referring to a matchmaker, a role traditionally undertaken by women in facilitating marriages. Over centuries, its application shifted from this specific human intermediary to encompass any agent or mechanism that serves as a connecting medium, thereby extending its semantic range to include abstract means of communication. This evolution is evident in modern usage where "媒" functions as a morpheme in compounds such as "媒体" to denote media or various channels of information transmission.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

社交体很流行。

Shè jiāo méi tǐ hěn liú xíng.

Social media is very popular.

传统体正在变革。

Chuán tǒng méi tǐ zhèng zài biàn gé.

Traditional media is changing.

互联网是重要介。

Hù lián wǎng shì zhòng yào méi jiè.

The internet is an important medium.

人促成了这段婚姻。

Méi rén cù chéng le zhè duàn hūn yīn.

The matchmaker facilitated this marriage.

体对事件进行了报道。

Méi tǐ duì shì jiàn jìn xíng le bào dào.

The media reported on the event.

体教学越来越普遍。

Duō méi tǐ jiào xué yuè lái yuè pǔ biàn.

Multimedia teaching is becoming more and more common.

社交体影响了年轻人的价值观。

Shè jiāo méi tǐ yǐng xiǎng le nián qīng rén de jià zhí guān.

Social media has influenced the values of young people.

介融合是传业的发展趋势。

Méi jiè róng hé shì chuán méi yè de fā zhǎn qū shì.

Media convergence is the development trend of the media industry.