The basic format of each Zihui character entry comprised first the pronunciations including variants, and then the definitions, giving the primary meaning followed by common and extended meanings. In addition to using the traditional fanqie spelling, Mei indicated pronunciation with a commonly used homophonous character, no doubt in recognition of the fact that it was "almost impossible for the average reader to derive correct current readings from Tang dynasty fanqie".
Zihui character entries were structured to include pronunciations with variants, followed by definitions that included primary, common, and extended meanings. Mei's use of a homophonous character for pronunciation acknowledges the difficulty of deriving correct current readings from Tang dynasty fanqie.