How to Write 莓 (méi) — Meaning “berry”

Think of a strawberry plant: the grass radical 艹 on top is like the green leaves, and the bottom 每 looks like a smiling face with two eyes and a mouth. Imagine each (每) berry has a happy little face hiding under the leaves.

Write the top radical 艹 first with a horizontal stroke, then two vertical strokes. The bottom part 每 starts with a left-falling stroke (撇) for the first stroke of the left side, not a horizontal. Make sure the middle horizontal stroke of 每 is long enough to balance the character, and the final dot sits inside the lower right.

莓 has the grass top plus 每, meaning berry, while 兹 (zī) has a different bottom (two 玄) and means 'this' or 'now'. 苑 (yuàn) also has grass top but bottom is 夗, meaning a garden or imperial park. Visually, 莓's bottom has a clear 'every' shape with a dot, unlike the others.

莓 appears mainly in names of berries like 草莓 (strawberry) and 蓝莓 (blueberry), common in food packaging and menus. In Chinese culture, strawberries are popular in desserts and symbolize sweetness and romance, especially around Valentine's Day when strawberry chocolate is a common gift.

Common words containing 莓 include: 草莓 (cǎo méi) — Strawberry.; 蓝莓 (lán méi) — blueberry; 蔓越莓 (màn yuè méi) — Cranberry.