Writing Balance Rule: The left side (fire radical) should be narrower and slightly elevated, leaving enough space for the right side (mou/gate component) to spread out without crowding.
1. Meaning
coal
sootcarbon
NounNeutral#energy#nature#minerals
Sample Usage
冬天家里靠烧煤取暖。
dōngtiān jiālǐ kào shāo méi qǔnuǎn.
In winter, the family relies on burning coal for heating.
煤炭是重要的工业原料。
méitàn shì zhòngyào de gōngyè yuánliào.
Coal is an important industrial raw material.
2. Sound
/[meɪ̯³⁵]/Tone: 35
煤
méimei2
|
++
´(35)
=méi
Initial Consonant
m
Type: Bilabial Nasal
Sounds like: m sound like in 'mother'
Unaspirated
Airflow Tactile Test: Nasal resonance through nostrils.
Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips pressed together lightly and then released, with the vocal cords vibrating.
Final Rhyme
ei
Vowel Group: -e vowel group
Sounds like: -ei rhymes with 'ay' in 'day'
Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ay'.
Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.
Tone
T2 (35)
3 → 5 (35)
2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)
Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises like a questioning English sentence (e.g., 'Huh?').
Sandhi: When followed by another Tone 2, it undergoes standard Tone 3-like or Tone 2 sandhi rules depending on compounding, but as a standalone Tone 2 it rises sharply from mid to high.
👂
Listening trap: Confusing Tone 2 (méi) with Tone 4 (mèi) or Tone 3 (měi). Pay attention to the upward slope of the pitch.
👋
Physical Tone Gesture: Raise your hand upward from your chest to your eye level, like asking a question with 'What?'.
3. Writing
Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 12 strokes
Writing Balance Rule: The left side (fire radical) should be narrower and slightly elevated, leaving enough space for the right side (mou/gate component) to spread out without crowding.
4. Components
Radical火 · Fire radical (fire, heat, energy)
Semantic Clue (形旁):火 (Indicates that coal is a flammable substance related to fire and burning.)
Phonetic Clue (声旁):某 (original sound: mǒu / méi)
Coal (煤) is what happens when you have fire (火) locked inside a certain (某) type of ancient buried wood or rock.
火 Fire semantic radical on the left
某 mǒu phonetic component on the right
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
5· Phonetic Root: 某 (mǒu)
5. History
Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)
Origin: Combined from the fire radical (火) indicating its use for burning and fuel, and 某 (mǒu) providing the phonetic reading.
Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to black combustible mineral substances used for heating and industry, maintaining this core meaning into modern times.
Coal became increasingly vital during the Industrial Revolution and remains a major global energy source.
6. Sinosphere
🇯🇵
Kanji (Japanese)
On: バイ / Kun: すず
🇰🇷
Hanja (Korean)
매
7. Memory
Vivid Mnemonic Story
To make a fire (火) burn, you need a certain (某) special black rock: coal (méi)!
Phonetic Family (形声字家族)
某
mǒucertain / someWithout the fire radical on the left, it means 'certain' or 'some'.
谋
móuplan / schemeReplaces the fire radical with the speech/words radical (讠), meaning planning with words.
媒
méimatchmaker / mediumReplaces the fire radical with the female radical (女), representing a matchmaker.
Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)
媒(méi)
煤 has the fire radical (火) for coal/fuel; 媒 has the woman radical (女) for matchmaker.
梅(méi)
煤 has the fire radical (火) for coal; 梅 has the tree radical (木) for plum blossom.
8. Mastery
Active Recall Challenge
冬天家里需要买 [___] 来取暖。
Clue: méi
Common Learner Pitfall
Confusing the radical on the left with wood (木) or water (氵) because coal looks like a solid black stone.
Memory Prompts
Recognition: What does 煤 mean and how is it pronounced?
Production: How do you write the Chinese character for 'coal'?
Real-World Video Context
Watch authentic native speakers pronounce and explain this word in real-world YouTube videos.
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煤méicoal
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