泯 (mǐn): to vanish

Meanings

1 to vanish
2 to die out
3 to obliterate
4 to be wiped out

Characters

泯

mǐn

to vanish; die out

Examples

他的良心未泯。

Tā de liángxīn wèi mǐn.

His conscience has not yet died.

童心未泯。

Tóng xīn wèi mǐn.

He still has the heart of a child.

Tips

usage

泯 is a bound classical character — almost never standalone. You'll meet it in fixed phrases like 良心未泯 (liángxīn wèi mǐn — 'conscience not yet extinguished') and 童心未泯 (tóngxīn wèi mǐn — 'still has a child's heart'), and in compounds 泯灭 (mǐnmiè — to be obliterated) and 泯没 (mǐnmò — to vanish).

Components

radical

氵 shuǐ

water (left-side form)

氵 is left-side water and gives 泯 its core image — something dissolved or washed away, like ink fading in water. The radical pulls the verb into the "disappear/dissipate" sense seen in 消, 灭 (without water but similar logic).

phonetic

民 mín

people; the masses

民 gives the sound mín → mǐn (tone shift to third). The "people" meaning has no role here; it's a borrowed phonetic. Same series shows up in 抿 mǐn (purse lips), 闽 mǐn (Fujian abbreviation).