咪

mī
口 + 米

Definitions

mī sound for calling a cat

Etymology

Phonosemantic compound. 口 represents the meaning and 米 represents the sound.

Semantic: 口 Phonetic: 米

About

As a phono-semantic compound, 咪 combines the semantic mouth radical 口 on the left, indicating a connection to vocalizations or facial expressions, with the character 米 on the right serving as the phonetic component. It originally functioned as an onomatopoeia for the meowing of cats and similar small felines. Beyond animal sounds, it also developed a secondary meaning describing the facial expression of smiling with narrowed eyes. In modern usage, it is commonly employed for phonetic transcription, notably as an abbreviation for the English word "microphone" in technological contexts.

Example Sentences Hide

小猫咪咪叫。

Xiǎo māo mī mī jiào.

The kitten meows.

咪咪是我的宠物猫。

Mī mī shì wǒ de chǒng wù māo.

Mimi is my pet cat.

他咪着眼睛看太阳。

Tā mī zhe yǎn jīng kàn tài yáng.

He squints his eyes to look at the sun.

街边有咪表停车。

Jiē biān yǒu mī biǎo tíng chē.

There are parking meters on the street for parking.

妈妈咪呀，这太惊喜了！

Mā ma mī ya, zhè tài jīng xǐ le!

Mama mia, this is such a surprise!

他用咪高峰演唱歌曲。

Tā yòng mī gāo fēng yǎn chàng gē qǔ.

He uses a microphone to sing songs.

咪唑是一种有机化合物。

Mī zuò shì yī zhǒng yǒu jī huà hé wù.

Imidazole is an organic compound.

在显微镜下，他咪见了细微的结构。

Zài xiǎn wēi jìng xià, tā mī jiàn le xì wēi de jié gòu.

Under the microscope, he glimpsed the fine structure.

Related Characters

Component: 口

中 和 可 后 如 同 只 知 高 问 向 或 加 合

Component: 米

类 断 精 料 米 继 奥 迷 粮 糊 粗 粉 粒 粹

Example Words

妈咪 咪咪 猫咪 咪嘴