妹妹
mèimei/meɪ̯⁵¹ meɪ̯¹/
The Chinese phrase for "little sister" is 妹妹 (mèimei).
妹妹 is used to refer to a female sibling who is younger than the speaker. Beyond biological relationships, it can also be used as a friendly or affectionate way to refer to a girl or woman who is significantly younger than the speaker.
What does it mean word for word?
The word consists of the character 妹 (mèi), which means younger sister and the reduplicated form 妹妹 (mèimei), which is the standard way to express the noun.
Which one should you use?
While 妹妹 refers to a younger sister, the term 姐姐 (jiějie) is used to refer to an older sister.
How does it change in a sentence?
To indicate a plural number of younger sisters, you can add the suffix 们 (men) to the form to create 妹妹们.
How do you pronounce it?
The romanization is mèimei. The IPA is /meɪ̯⁵¹ meɪ̯¹/.
Did you know?
- In some social circles, calling a woman 妹妹 when she is actually older can be seen as a flirtatious compliment or a way to call her youthful.
- When referring to a sister-in-law who is younger than the speaker, Chinese uses different terms like 小姑子 (xiǎogūzi) instead of 妹妹.
- The reduplication in 妹妹 (mèimei) is a common feature in Chinese for creating nouns that feel more intimate or diminutive, similar to how 'doggy' works in English.
Examples in context
- 进商店的人是我妹妹。The person entering the store is my little sister.This sentence is useful for identifying a little sister as a person entering a store.Tatoeba #1441759 by GlossaMatik, translation #9981691 by francaisr0wlet
- 请看一下我妹妹在做什么。Can you have a look at what my little sister is doing?This sentence is useful for asking someone to observe what a little sister is doing.Tatoeba #10460397 by GlossaMatik, translation #14022692 by frpzzd
- 她的玩具是被她妹妹弄壞的。Her toy was broken by her little sister.This sentence is useful for describing an object that was broken by a little sister.Tatoeba #777616 by egg0073, translation #777617 by CM
- 我亲爱的妹妹，你今天过得好吗？(Wǒ qīn'ài de mèimei, nǐ jīntiān guò dé hǎo ma?)My dear little sister, how was your day today?
- 宝贝妹妹，你需要什么帮助吗？(Bǎobèi mèimei, nǐ xūyào shénme bāngzhù ma?)Darling little sister, do you need any help?
- 嘿，妹，我们去公园玩吧！(Hēi, mèi, wǒmen qù gōngyuán wán ba!)Hey sis, let's go to the park and play!
- 妹子，你看这个新游戏很好玩吗？(Mèizi, nǐ kàn zhège xīn yóuxì hěn hǎowán ma?)Hey sis, do you think this new game is fun?
- 9 more sentences on Tatoeba
Example conversation
Two friends are talking about their families at a coffee shop.
- 雨婷 Yuting你有妹妹吗？Nǐ yǒu mèimei ma?Do you have a little sister?
- 志强 Zhiqiang我有一个妹妹。Wǒ yǒu yī gè mèimei.I have one little sister.
- 雨婷 Yuting你的妹妹多大了？Nǐ de mèimei duō dà le?How old is your little sister?
- 志强 Zhiqiang她今年十岁了。Tā jīnnián shí suì le.She is ten years old this year.
Sources
- Pronunciation: Wiktionary entry 妹妹, CC BY-SA 4.0, dump of 2026-09-26.
- Example sentences: Tatoeba CC BY 2.0 FR.
