Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Human Body & People

媒: mediator, go-between

JLPT N112 strokesSecondary schoolYour ink: 白 Not met

女 carries the meaning · 某 gives the sound

12 strokes

One reading, and the words that use it

バイbai · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 媒体ばいたいmedium; media
  • 触媒しょくばいcatalyst
  • 冷媒れいばいrefrigerant; coolant
  • 媒介ばいかい
  • 媒酌ばいしゃくmatchmaking; acting as a go-between
  • 溶媒ようばいsolvent

Also read なこうど, with no example words in our sources. Words: JMdict, EDRDG, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Learn it 4 steps
Print sheet Present
成り立ち

Where it comes from

Memory story · made up to help you remember

“Grace and strength! This is the radical of the feminine, representing mothers, daughters, and the many roles women have played throughout history.”
More in the 女 woman story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
女

Also built on woman (女)

All 38
某

Also built on so-and-so (某)

The 某 family reads ボウ (bou); 媒 is read バイ.

Also read バイ

12 kanji share this on'yomi

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
媒 mediator · 女 + 某
vs棋 chess piece · 木 + 其
媒 has 女 + 某 where 棋 has 木 + 其.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · méi

Same form: 媒 is written the same way in mainland China (simplified) and in Taiwan and Hong Kong (traditional).

Simplified
媒 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
媒 Taiwan, Hong Kong

Pinyin méi most common reading

Forms and pinyin: Unicode Unihan database (Unicode License v3). Pinyin lists the most common reading, not every reading.

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