How to Write 埋 (mái/mán) — Meaning “to bury”

Imagine you have a pile of earth (土) and you push something into it so it goes 'inside' (里). To remember, think: "I bury it in the earth, and it goes 里 (inside)." The sound mái can also be linked to 'my' as in 'my treasure is buried here.'

埋 has 10 strokes: first write the left radical 土 (three strokes), then the right side 里 (seven strokes). A common mistake is making the horizontal strokes of 里 too long; they should stay within the width of the 土 radical. Also, note that the bottom stroke of 里 is a horizontal line, not a rising stroke.

埋 means 'to bury' and has the radical 土 plus 里. 坡 (pō) means 'slope' and is made of 土 plus 皮 (skin/surface), so it suggests a sloping surface of earth. 坤 (kūn) means 'earth' or 'female' and is 土 plus 申, often used in Chinese philosophy for the earth element. Focus on the right-side component: 里 for inside, 皮 for slope, 申 for extension.

埋 is commonly used in words like 埋伏 (ambush, literally 'bury hiding') and 埋藏 (to conceal or bury treasure). The variant pronunciation mán in 埋怨 (to complain) is a special case where it means 'to blame' but is not related to burying. Culturally, burying ancestors is important in Chinese tradition, so 埋 often appears in funeral or heritage contexts.

Common words containing 埋 include: 埋伏 (mái fú) — ambush; 埋藏 (mái cáng) — to hide; to conceal; to bury; 埋怨 (mán yuàn) — To complain.