蒙 (mēng): to deceive; to cheat; to hoodwi…

Meanings

1 to deceive; to cheat; to hoodwink
2 to guess wildly; to take a blind stab
3 (knocked) unconscious; dazed; stunned

Characters

蒙

mēng

to deceive; to cheat; to hoodwink

Examples

HSK 2

这道题我是蒙对的。

Zhè dào tí wǒ shì mēng duì de.

I just guessed this question right.

HSK 3

头被打了一下，他发蒙了整整一分钟。

Tóu bèi dǎ le yíxià, tā fāmēng le zhěngzhěng yī fēnzhōng.

Whacked on the head, he was dazed for a full minute.

HSK 5

别蒙我，我已经知道真相了。

Bié mēng wǒ, wǒ yǐjīng zhīdào zhēnxiàng le.

Don't try to fool me - I already know the truth.

Tips

usage

The mēng reading (level tone) is the colloquial / spoken cluster - sneakier and more conversational than méng. Three uses: (1) to cheat - 蒙骗 (hoodwink), 瞎蒙 ('blind-cheat'), the casual 你别蒙我 ('don't bullshit me'); (2) to guess - 蒙对了 / 蒙答案 (guess the answer when you don't know it); (3) to be dazed / knocked-out - 发蒙 (be confused, blanking out), 蒙蒙亮 (first dim glimmer of dawn - 'still in a daze').

mistakes

Quick rule: rising tone 蒙 is what's done TO someone (covered, blessed, wronged); level tone 蒙 is what someone DOES (deceive, guess) or is in (dazed). 蒙蔽 (to deceive, formal/written) takes méng even though the meaning is similar to 蒙骗 - register difference, no logical fix; you just memorise the compound.

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.