How to Write 玫 (méi) — Meaning “Rose (character used in rose)”

Picture a rose (花) with a jade-like (王) stem being tapped (攵) by a bee. Or think: The King (王) holds a rose and taps it (攵) to check its thorns. The sound "méi" is like "May" when roses bloom.

The left radical 王 must be narrow, with the third horizontal stroke shorter than the first two. The right part 攵 has four strokes: the first two are slanted, and the final "X" shape should cross in the middle, not at the bottom. A common mistake is making the left 王 too wide, which ruins the balance.

玫 (méi) means rose and is used only in 玫瑰, while 玎 (dīng) means a jade ornament and 玑 (jī) means a pearl or star. Visually, 玫 has 攵 on the right, 玎 has 丁 (a nail shape), and 玑 has 几 (a table shape). Their pronunciations and meanings are completely different.

玫 almost always appears in the word 玫瑰 (méi guī, rose). It is also used in colors like 玫瑰色 (rose-colored) and 玫瑰红 (rose red). In Chinese culture, roses symbolize love and romance, so you see 玫 on Valentine's Day cards or in poetry.

Common words containing 玫 include: 玫瑰 (méi guī) — Rose; 玫瑰色 (méi guī sè) — Rose-colored; 玫瑰红 (méi guī hóng) — Rose red.