Kanji Kaisen

漢字Kanji · in Nature & Elements

梅: plum

JLPT N110 strokesGrade 4Your ink: 白 Not met

木 carries the meaning · 毎 gives the sound

10 strokes
  • Small seal · Qin
  • Today

Small seal: Wikimedia Commons, public domain. Today’s form: KanjiVG, CC BY-SA 3.0.

Two readings, and the words that use each

バイbai · on'yomi · in compounds

  • 梅林ばいりんJapanese apricot/plum grove
  • 梅毒ばいどくsyphilis
  • 梅雨前線ばいうぜんせんseasonal rain front
  • 紅梅こうばいred-blossomed plum tree
  • 白梅はくばいwhite-blossomed plum tree

うめume · kun'yomi · on its own

  • 梅うめJapanese apricot/plum
  • 梅干しうめぼしdried Japanese apricot/plum
  • 梅酒うめしゅJapanese apricot/plum wine

Special readingsThese words are read as a whole, not from the readings above.

  • 塩梅あんばいseasoning, condition, state
  • 梅雨つゆrainy season

Words: Kanji alive, CC BY 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

“Stand before a great, ancient tree and see 木! The vertical line is the sturdy trunk, the top strokes are branches reaching for the sunlight, and the bottom strokes are the roots gripping the earth.”
More in the 木 tree story
繋がり
Ink shades, lightest to darkest: 白 Not met, 淡 Met, 中 Learning, 濃 Familiar, 印 Mastered
木

Also built on tree (木)

All 124
毎

Also built on every (毎)

The 毎 family reads カイ (kai); 梅 is read バイ.

Also read バイ

12 kanji share this on'yomi

Easy to confuse

The difference, side by side
梅 plum · 木
vs悔 repent · 忄
梅 has 木 where 悔 has 忄.
In ChineseSame character in simplified and traditional · méi

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

Simplified
梅 mainland China, Singapore
Traditional
梅 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.

One click tells us. No sign-up.