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蒙

méng / mēng / Měng
verb HSK 6 #2,830

Meanings

  1. 1 to cover; to put a cover on
  2. 2 to receive (a favor); to be granted
  3. 3 to suffer (a misfortune); to be subjected to
  4. 4 ignorant; uncultured

Examples

HSK 2
她用手蒙住了眼睛。
Tā yòng shǒu méngzhù le yǎnjing.
She covered her eyes with her hands.
HSK 7-9
承蒙您的支持，我们非常感激。
Chéngméng nín de zhīchí, wǒmen fēicháng gǎnjī.
We are truly grateful for your support.
HSK 7-9
他蒙冤多年才得到公正的审判。
Tā méngyuān duōnián cái dédào gōngzhèng de shěnpàn.
He was wrongly accused and only got a fair hearing years later.

Tips

usage
The méng reading (rising tone) is the literary / formal cluster: (1) physical covering - 蒙住 (cover up), 蒙面 (mask up), 蒙版 (layer mask in Photoshop); (2) receiving - 承蒙 ('to receive with gratitude', formal letter opener); (3) suffering - 蒙受 (sustain a loss), 蒙冤 (be wronged); (4) enlightenment / ignorance - 启蒙 (to enlighten - literally 'lift the cover'), 蒙昧 (uncivilised). All foreign-name transliterations (Edmond, Simon, Raymond, Hammond, Vermont, Montgomery, Mona Lisa) also take méng.
memory
The three readings unify through one image: a creeping vine covering a hidden boar. Cover → méng (literal). Cover-the-truth → mēng (deceive, dazed). Cover-the-grassland → 蒙古 (the steppe people, named for the grass-covered plains). Same character, three pronunciations, one picture.

Components

radical
艹 cǎo
grass; plant (top radical)
Top indexing grass radical 艹 - the compressed three-stroke form of 艸. Carries the meaning core of 蒙: the original sense was 'a creeping vine covering everything,' from which 'to cover' generalised. Anchors 蒙 in the plant family alongside 草, 花, 茶, 莫 - and supplies the picture of a leafy spread overlaying a hidden creature below.
semantic
冖 mì
cover
Middle cover 冖 (Kangxi #14) - a horizontal canopy. Reinforces the radical: not just plants spreading on top, but a deliberate covering action. Carries the metaphorical extension to 'deceive / cover the truth' (蒙骗) - putting a veil over what should be clear.
semantic
豕 shǐ
pig
Bottom 豕 (Kangxi #152) - pig under cover under foliage. The original picture was a wild boar hidden in undergrowth; classical Chinese lore held that boars curled up under brush were impossible to see, hence both 'covered up' and 'unable to discern' (蒙昧 ignorant, 启蒙 enlightenment = lifting the cover). Same animal in 家, 豪.

Stroke Order

蒙 méng