How to Write 湄 (méi) — Meaning “The bank of a river or lake”

Imagine a person dipping their eyebrow into the water at the edge of a river — that's 湄! The water radical on the left and the eyebrow on the right remind you that the water meets the 'eyebrow' of the land, forming the bank.

The left radical 氵 is narrow and tall, written with three dots (the first two shorter, the last a small stroke). The right part 眉 must be balanced; its top '丿' should not be too long, and the bottom '目' should be slightly narrower than the top. A common mistake is making the right side too wide, which disrupts the overall proportion.

Unlike 湄 (riverbank, with 眉 on the right), 流 (to flow) has a different right side: 㐬 (a flowing stream). 浙 (the Zhe River) uses 折 (to break) on the right. Visually, 湄 has the distinctive 'eyebrow' component, while the others have different shapes and meanings related to water movement or place names.

湄 is not common in daily conversation but appears in the place name 湄公河 (Mekong River) and in literary terms like 水湄 (water's edge). It is often found in classical poetry to evoke a serene waterside scene, so you may encounter it in reading rather than speech.

Common words containing 湄 include: 湄公河 (méi gōng hé) — Mekong River; 水湄 (shuǐ méi) — Water's edge / Riverbank; 湄 (méi) — The bank of a river or lake.