mei5尾

Jyutpingmei5

Yaleméih

名詞Very common

Definition

Tail, or the end part of something.

the tail of an animal
the end; the last part

colloquialanimalsdescriptions

How it's used

Beyond the literal anatomical meaning, this character is frequently used to denote the end or final part of something, such as a queue or a period of time. It often appears in compound words relating to sequence or position. When referring to the very end of a line or a process, it is common to use the classifier 條 to emphasize the physical length or the tail end of the sequence.

Measure word

tiu4條tìuh

Examples

zek3隻gau2狗bat1不ting4停gam3咁jiu4搖tiu4條mei5尾。

The dog keeps wagging its tail.

nei5你paai4排deoi2隊paai4排喺hai2條tiu4尾mei5度dou6呀？

Are you queuing at the very end?

Common phrases

ngau4牛mei5尾

oxtail

mei5尾baa1巴

tail

paai4排mei5尾

to be at the end of a queue

Common mistake

Learners often confuse this with 後, which refers to the concept of 'after' or 'behind' in a temporal or spatial sense. While 尾 can mean the end of a line, it is specifically the physical tail end, whereas 後 is more abstract and relates to position relative to something else.