ChiramiN4 kanji · 8 strokes
妹 means younger sister
妹
女 woman · 未 not yet
妹Memory trick
A woman (女) not yet (未) grown up: your younger sister.
Memory trick: a picture to help you remember the kanji, not its history.
Meaning and readings
- Meaning
- younger sister
- JLPT level
- N4
- Strokes
- 8
- School grade
- Grade 2 in Japan
Japanese (kunyomi) いもうと imouto
いもうと (imouto) is the Japanese word for this kanji. You use it when the kanji stands alone or has kana after it. Dictionaries call this the kun reading.
From Chinese (onyomi) マイ mai
マイ (mai) came from Chinese with the character. You mostly hear it in words made of several kanji. Dictionaries call this the on reading.
Tap a reading to see when it's used. Why kanji have two kinds of reading: onyomi vs kunyomi.
Common word
姉妹 しまい · shimai
sisters
Built from
Tap a part to see the N5 and N4 kanji that use it.
女 Used in 48 kanji
See all 5 at N5 and N4Quick check
What does 妹 mean?
Right: 妹 means younger sister.Not quite: 妹 means younger sister.In 姉妹, which reading does 妹 use?
Right. 姉妹 is read しまい (shimai): 妹 takes マイ, its reading from Chinese.Not quite. 姉妹 is read しまい (shimai): 妹 takes マイ, its reading from Chinese.