梅 méi
: plum; plum flower
: prune; Japanese apricot (Prunus mume)
Kun Reading
梅 | うめ ume
noun
: Japanese apricot (Prunus mume); Chinese plum
: lowest (of a three-tier ranking system)
On Reading
バイ bai
梅花 mei2hua1: plum blossom; clubs ♣ (a suit in card games); wintersweet (dialect)
[梅花 | ばいか baika: ume (plum) blossoms
OR
もいか moika: plum blossom design; silk fabric with a plum blossom design]
梅子 mei2zi: plum
梅毒 mei2du2 : syphilis [ばいどく baidoku]
楊梅[杨] yang2mei2: red bayberry; Chinese bayberry; Japanese bayberry; Myrica rubra
臘[腊]梅 la4mei2: wintersweet; Japanese allspice; Chimonanthus praecox
[臘梅 | ろうばい soubai: wintersweet (Chimonanthus praecox); Japanese allspice]
酸梅 suan1mei2: pickled plum; Japanese umeboshi
[梅干 | うめぼし umeboshi: dried plum]
乾梅子 [干梅子] gan1 mei2 zi5: prunes
Japanese common word | expression | yojijukugo 四字熟語
菜種梅雨 | なたねづゆ natane zuyu
: (yoji) long spell of rain in early spring
Chinese expression | idiom
望梅止渴 wang4 mei2 zhi3 ke3
: lit. to quench one’s thirst by thinking of plums; fig. to console oneself with illusions
踏雪尋梅 [踏雪寻梅] ta4 xue3 xun2 mei2
: to walk in the snow to view the flowering plum
青梅竹馬 [青梅竹马] qing1 mei2 zhu2 ma3
: lit. green plums and hobby-horse; fig. innocent children’s games; childhood sweethearts; a couple who grew up as childhood friends
形声-R Pictophonetic-Reclarified.
木 (mu4: tree radical 75) reclarifies the meaning while
每 (mei3: each; every) provides both meaning and sound.
Historical variant:
楳 [梅] mei2
Variant:
槑 [梅] mei2
Examples:
梅雨が始まった。
つゆがはじまった tsuyu ga hajimatta
The rainy season has set in.
每期想吐一定會找酸梅來吃。
mei3 qi1 xiang3 tu4 yi1ding4 hui4 zhao3 suan1mei2 lai chi
Every time I feel nauseous I will surely find pickled plums to quell the feeling.
Resources: Chinese Dictionary | Japanese Dictionary
