How to Write 洣 (mǐ) — Meaning “Mi (name of a river)”

Imagine a river (氵) flowing through a rice paddy (米), creating the "Mi River." The rice shape looks like grains floating on water, helping you link the character to its sound and meaning. This visual of water and rice together makes 洣 easy to recall.

First write the three strokes of 氵 (dot, dot, lift) starting from the left side, then write 米 with a dot, left-falling stroke, horizontal, vertical, left-falling, and right-falling. A common mistake is making the 米 too wide—keep it narrow so the character stays balanced. Also ensure the last two strokes of 米 are clear and not merged together.

洣 (mǐ) has 米 (rice) on the right and refers to the Mi River. 㳄 (xián) is an ancient character meaning saliva or drool, with a different right component (欠). 汧 (qiān) has 开 (kāi) on the right and is the name of another river in Shaanxi. Visually, 洣 uses 米, 汧 uses 开, and 㳄 uses 欠—each has a distinct right side.

洣 is not in the HSK vocabulary and is rarely used outside of geographic names. It appears in the names of the 洣水 (Mǐ Shuǐ) and 洣江 (Mǐ Jiāng), both referring to the Mi River in Hunan Province, China. Learning it is useful for reading Chinese maps or regional history, but not for everyday conversation.

Common words containing 洣 include: 洣水 (mǐ shuǐ) — Mi River; 洣江 (mǐ jiāng) — Mi River; 洣河 (mǐ hé) — Mi River.