Dong Chinese dictionary

méi

rose, fine jade

Phonosemantic compound. 玉 represents the meaning and 文 represents the sound.

Components

玉 Meaning component

yù

jade

文 Sound component

wén

writing

玫 and 文 don't sound similar in modern Mandarin due to historical phonetic changes. They were more similar in older Chinese.

Due to historical stylistic changes, this component is less similar to 文 than it was in ancient scripts.

Evolution

Seal script

Chu (Warring States: 475-221 BC)

Regular script

Modern

Definitions

méi

rose; (fine jade); see 玫瑰[méiguī]

Most common words with 玫

Sources