Definitions

méi (adverb) have not; not
(verb) to drown; to sink

Etymology

Simplified form of . Depicts a hand reaching in the water to grab something. The meaning later expanded to "drown", "disappear", and "not have".

Semantic: Phonetic:

About

This phono-semantic compound features the water radical 氵 on the left, indicating its semantic domain, and the phonetic component 殳 on the right, originally depicting a hand wielding a weapon or tool. Its core meaning involved submersion in water, sinking, drowning, or being submerged. When pronounced mò, it carries these literal senses of sinking or disappearance, along with related meanings like confiscation. The most common modern usage, pronounced méi, evolved from this idea of disappearance into a grammatical negative, used to deny possession or negate the completion of an action.

Etymology Hide

Seal etymology image
Seal Shuowen (~100 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Han dynasty (202 BC-9 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Eastern Han dynasty (25-220 AD)
Clerical etymology image
Clerical Western Jin dynasty (266-316 AD)
Traditional Modern
Simplified Modern

Example Sentences Hide

有手表。

Wǒ méiyǒu shǒubiǎo.

I don't have a watch.

他昨天回家。

Tā zuótiān méi huí jiā.

He didn't go home yesterday.

听到电话声。

Wǒ méi tīngdào diànhuà shēng.

I didn't hear the phone ring.

这个地方人来过。

Zhège dìfāng méi rén lái guò.

No one has come to this place.

如果你时间,就别去了。

Rúguǒ nǐ méi shíjiān, jiù bié qù le.

If you don't have time, then don't go.

他根本考虑我的建议。

Tā gēnběn méi kǎolǜ wǒ de jiànyì.

He didn't consider my suggestion at all.

由于做好准备,我们失败了。

Yóuyú méi zuò hǎo zhǔnbèi, wǒmen shībài le.

Because we didn't prepare well, we failed.

尽管收到正式通知,他还是知道了。

Jǐnguǎn méi shōudào zhèngshì tōngzhī, tā háishì zhīdào le.

Even though he didn't receive official notification, he still found out.