How to Write 靡 (mí/mǐ) — Meaning “Extravagant; wasteful; withered”

Imagine a pile of hemp (麻) that you bought but never use — that is wasteful. The bottom part 非 looks like two crossed lines, reminding you that this is 'not' (非) the right way to handle resources.

The top part 麻 has a dot under the roof (广) and two 木 trees inside — be careful not to make the trees too big. The bottom part 非 must be balanced left and right, and the overall character is quite tall with 19 strokes.

靡 has 非 at the bottom, while 麿 has 予 (to give) at the bottom. 麿 is a very rare character meaning 'to grind' or used in names, so it has no relation to waste or fashion. Visually, 靡 is slightly wider because of its symmetrical bottom.

靡 appears in common two-character words: 奢靡 (shē mí) means wasteful or luxurious, 风靡 (fēng mǐ) means a trend that sweeps through, and 委靡 (wěi mǐ) describes a listless or dejected mood. This character is not used alone and is considered advanced vocabulary.

Common words containing 靡 include: 奢靡 (shē mí) — Extravagant; wasteful; luxurious.; 风靡 (fēng mǐ) — To be fashionable; to sweep through; 委靡 (wěi mǐ) — Listless; dejected.