氓

méng / máng
noun

Meanings

  1. 1 the common people
  2. 2 migrant peasants of ancient times

Examples

HSK 7-9
《 Shījīng 》 zhōng de 《 Méng 》 jiǎngshù le yíge qìfù de gùshi.
The Book of Songs poem "Meng" tells of an abandoned wife.

Tips

history
The méng reading is literary and classical, meaning 'the common people' or migrant peasants. It is best known as the title of the poem 《氓》 in the Book of Songs. In modern Chinese the character is read máng (in 流氓).

Components

semantic
亡 wáng
to flee; to lose
亡 means 'to flee / be lost'. Combined with 民 (民, the people), the original picture is displaced wanderers - rootless people, which later colored the 'rogue/drifter' sense.
phonetic
民 mín
the people; phonetic
民 supplies the sound (mín shifting to máng) and adds meaning: the word originally referred to people, here uprooted ones.

Stroke Order

氓 méng