眯 (mí) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

眯

mí[mi2]Tone 2

to squint or to get something in one's eye

Multiple Readings (多音字):

Guru Deep Dive

English · to squint or to get something in one's eye

Cached lesson

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Topology:Left-right

Strokes:10

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (目) should be narrower and slightly taller, while the right component (米) takes up more horizontal space and balances the character's overall center of gravity.

1. Meaning

to squint; to narrow one's eyes

to get dust or a foreign object in the eyeto take a nap (colloquial shorthand)

VerbNeutral#eyes#vision#body actions

Sample Usage

沙子眯了眼睛。
Shāzi mīle yǎnjing.
Sand got into my eyes.
他眯着眼睛看黑板。
Tā mīzhe yǎnjing kàn hēibǎn.
He is squinting to look at the blackboard.

2. Sound

/[mi³⁵]/Tone: 35

眯

mími2

´(35)

=mí

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

Tone mark placement: Tone mark sits on "i" per main-vowel priority (a > e > o; in -iu/-ui the mark takes the second vowel).

Initial Consonant

Type: Bilabial Nasal

Sounds like: m sound as in 'mother'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Nasal resonance through nostrils.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips pressed together gently with air passing through the nose for the nasal onset, then opening for the vowel.

Final Rhyme

Vowel Group: -i vowel group

Sounds like: ee sound as in 'see'

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'ee'.

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., 'What?'), starting from a mid pitch and climbing upward.

Sandhi: When followed by a Tone 4 syllable, it changes to a rising pitch that peaks slightly lower before the drop. When followed by another Tone 2, it can undergo full tone sandhi similar to a Tone 3 depending on speech speed.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing it with Tone 4 (mì) or Tone 1 (mī), which changes the meaning completely.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: Make a rising hand gesture starting from chest level and sweeping upward to eye level, mirroring the Tone 2 upward pitch contour.

3. Writing

Topology: Left-right · Strokes: 10 strokes

4. Components

Radical 目 · Eye Radical (eye, vision)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 目 (Indicates actions or conditions relating to the eyes.)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 米 (original sound: mi)

The eye component (目) meets the rice component (米) to show what happens when a stray grain of rice or speck of dust flies into your eye and forces you to squint.

目 eye
米 rice / phonetic cue

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

9· Phonetic Root: 米 (mǐ)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from 目 (eye) representing the organ affected, and 米 (rice) providing both the pronunciation and an imagery of tiny particles like grains of rice.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred specifically to dust or foreign objects entering the eye and causing discomfort, it naturally expanded to mean the action of squinting one's eyes against glare or poor light.

The character bridges the concrete visual of tiny particles with the physiological reaction of narrowing the eyelids.

6. Sinosphere

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You are cooking with RICE (米) when a stray grain flies directly into your EYE (目), forcing you to SQUINT (mí) in pain!

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

米

mǐuncooked ricePhonetic Core (声旁)

继

jìto continue+ 纟 (silk)

迷

mífan / confused / lost+ 辶 (walking)

咪

mīsound for calling a cat+ 口 (mouth)

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

迷(mí)

迷 uses the walking/path radical (辶), relating to being lost, while 眯 uses the eye radical (目), relating to squinting.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

沙子不小心[___]进他的眼睛里了。

Clue: mí

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the left radical 目 (eye) with 日 (sun) when handwriting, which alters the structural integrity and creates a non-existent glyph.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: When you see 眯, what physical action involving the face does it describe?

Production: How do you write the character for squinting/getting something in the eye (mí) using eye and rice components?

眯míto squint or to get something in one's eye

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