邁 (mài) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

11. Meaning

to take a step, to stride

to walkto pass by (literary)

VerbNeutral#movement#action#walking

Sample Usage

迈步前进
mài bù qián jìn
to take a step forward
迈开大步
mài kāi dà bù
to stride forward with large steps

22. Sound

/[maɪ̯⁵¹]/Tone: 51

邁

màimai4

|

++

`(51)

=mài

Build the syllable

Step-by-step blending

mai

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

Initial Consonant

m

Type: Bilabial Nasal

Sounds like: m sound as in 'man'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Nasal resonance through nostrils.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips pressed together gently and released while voicing through the nose.

Final Rhyme

ai

Vowel Group: -a vowel group

Sounds like: -ai rhymes with 'my'

Mouth Shape Guide: Combine initial 'm-' (m) with final '-ai' (eye).

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T4 (51)

5 → 1 (51)

4th Tone (High-Falling)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 4 starts high and drops abruptly like an emphatic 'No!' in English.

👂

Listening trap: Confusing the falling Tone 4 with Tone 3, or confusing the vowel ending with -ao.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A sharp karate chop downwards, mirroring the falling pitch from high to low.

33. Writing7 strokes · animate & practice

1 / 1

Topology:Left-right

Strokes:7 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The left component (the walk radical) is slightly narrower and taller, leaving ample room for the right phonetic component to display its horizontal strokes evenly.

Simplification Logic: The traditional form 邁 uses 辵 (辶) as a walk radical and contains a complex phonetic upper-right structure, simplified into the standard walk radical on the left and 万 on the right.

44. Components

Radical 辶 · Walk Radical (movement, walking, motion)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 辶 (indicates movement or traveling by foot)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 万 (original sound: wan/mai phonetic influence)

A person walks (辶) with the energy of ten thousand (万) steps combined.

辶movement/walking
万ten thousand / phonetic element

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

2· Phonetic Root: 邁 (mài)

Characters sharing this phonetic root have similar sounds:

Phonetic Core (声旁)HSK 7Current

邁

mài

to take a step

+ 辶 (walking)HSK 7

迈

mài

to take a step

55. HistoryCombined from the walk radical (辶) representing feet in motion and a phonetic...

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Combined from the walk radical (辶) representing feet in motion and a phonetic component indicating sound.

Semantic Evolution: Originally referred to walking and stepping forward, expanding to metaphorical strides in time or progress.

Often appears in literary descriptions of heroic strides or monumental life milestones.

66. SinosphereKanji (Japanese) マイ

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: マイ

77. MemoryYou take a walking step (辶) that feels like it spans ten thousand (万) miles i...

Vivid Mnemonic Story

You take a walking step (辶) that feels like it spans ten thousand (万) miles in a single stride.

Explore this family →

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

万(wàn)

万 means ten thousand and lacks the walking radical 辶 on the left.

88. Mastery我们要勇敢地[___]出第一步。

Active Recall Challenge

我們要勇敢地[___]出第一步。

Clue: mài

Common Learner Pitfall

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does 迈 mean when combined with 步 in 迈步?

Production: How do you write the character for 'to take a step / stride' (mài)?

🎬 Videos12 clips · real-world usage

邁màito take a step

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English · to take a step

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)