How to Write 皿 (mǐn) — Meaning “vessel”

Picture 皿 as a simple drawing of a dish or bowl with a flat rim and a wide base. The two inner horizontal lines can remind you of the bottom and the water level inside the vessel. Think of it as a "mini" bowl — the pinyin mǐn sounds like "mini."

Write 皿 with 5 strokes: left vertical, top horizontal, right vertical, then two inner horizontals. The bottom horizontal should be the longest to support the vessel. Common mistakes include making the inner horizontals too close together or forgetting that the right vertical is a separate stroke.

器皿 (qì mǐn) means household utensils or containers like pots and bowls. 培养皿 (péi yǎng mǐn) is a Petri dish used in labs. 瓷皿 (cí mǐn) refers to a porcelain vessel. These terms appear in daily life and scientific contexts.

皿 is rarely used alone; it mostly appears in compound words for containers. You will see it in formal writing, museum labels for ancient vessels, or scientific terms like 培养皿. Culturally, 皿 as a radical appears in many characters related to containers, showing its importance in writing about objects that hold things.

Common words containing 皿 include: 器皿 (qì mǐn) — household utensils; 培养皿 (péi yǎng mǐn) — Petri dish; 瓷皿 (cí mǐn) — porcelain vessel; porcelain dish.