Kanji · JLPT N5 · Level 5
妹 younger sister
- Meaning
- younger sister
- On reading
- マイ
- Kun reading
- いもうと
Memory hook
女 (woman) beside 未 (not yet): the one who is not grown up yet. マイ in compounds, いもうと on its own.
Words that use 妹
妹
いもうと
younger sister
姉妹
しまい
sisters
How to write 妹
Stroke order · 8 strokes
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
- 1. Down, then out to the right.
- 2. The sweep down to the left.
- 3 to 5. Horizontal.
- 6. Vertical.
- 7. The sweep down to the left.
- 8. The diagonal down to the right.
Stroke data from KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.
General rules
- Top to bottom, left to right.
- Horizontal strokes before crossing vertical ones (十 = horizontal, then vertical).
- Outside before inside - but close a box last (口).
- A vertical that passes all the way through comes last (中).
- Left-falling diagonal before right-falling (大).
妹 is taught on day 20 of the kanji course, alongside 姉 友 名, with two writing passes and a short quiz.