罔 (wǎng): to deceive; to mislead

Meanings

1 to deceive; to mislead
2 none; nothing; not
3 old variant of 网 (net)

Characters

罔

wǎng

to deceive; none; net

Examples

HSK 7-9

学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。

Xué ér bù sī zé wǎng, sī ér bù xué zé dài.

To learn without thinking is to be deluded; to think without learning is perilous. (Confucius, Analects 2.15)

HSK 7-9

他置若罔闻，根本不理会大家的劝告。

Tā zhìruòwǎngwén, gēnběn bù lǐhuì dàjiā de quàngào.

He acted as if he had heard nothing and ignored everyone's advice.

Tips

history

罔 originally pictured a hunting net (the modern 网 descends from it). It then extended figuratively: a net that catches and deceives people, giving 'to deceive'; what falls through a net, giving 'nothing, none'. The famous Analects line 学而不思则罔 uses the 'be deluded / caught in a net of confusion' sense. Today 罔 is mostly literary, surviving in fixed phrases like 置若罔闻 ('treat as if heard nothing') and 欺君罔上 ('to deceive the sovereign').

Components

radical

⺳ wǎng

net (top-form radical of 网)

The net radical, here in its top-enclosure form ⺳ - a frame with two crossed cords inside, picturing the mesh of a fishing or hunting net. 罔 is the indexing parent of the net family (网/罒/⺳), and is itself an old variant of 网. The radical bears the whole literal meaning: a woven net, later extended metaphorically to 'snare, deceive.'

phonetic

亡 wáng

to flee; perish (here phonetic)

Inside the frame sits 亡, with an extra horizontal lid contracting it from 3 to 4 strokes here. Supplies the sound: wáng to wǎng with the regular tone shift. Same phonetic powers 忘 forget, 妄 reckless, 望 gaze far. Faintly semantic: a net traps what tries to 亡 (flee).