民 meaning and stroke order
Citizens, subjects; a nation's people
How to write 民, stroke by stroke
5 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Meaning of 民
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) the people
- inhabitants of a country
How 民 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. An eye 巳 pierced by a dagger 戈, an old mark of slavery.
How to remember 民
The etymology hint describes 民 as an eye (shown by 巳) pierced by a dagger 戈, an old mark placed on slaves or subjects. Picture the ruled common people who were marked this way, and you have the meaning "the people."
民 (mín) is a bound form, so it almost always appears inside words like 人民 (rénmín), 农民 (nóngmín), and 居民 (jūmín) rather than standing alone. Example: 这里的居民很友好。(Zhèlǐ de jūmín hěn yǒuhǎo.) The residents here are very friendly.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 民 with 氏 (shì, clan, surname), which looks similar but lacks the top closed box shape. Also remember 民 is second tone, so 人民 is rénmín with two rising tones, not rénmǐn.
Common words with 民
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 人民 | rénmín | the people | HSK 3 |
| 公民 | gōngmín | citizen | HSK 3 |
| 农民 | nóngmín | peasant; farmer | HSK 3 |
| 民族 | mínzú | nationality; ethnic group | HSK 3 |
| 民间 | mínjiān | among the people; popular | HSK 3 |
| 人民币 | rénmínbì | Renminbi, the official currency of the PRC (currency codes: RMB or CNY) | HSK 3 |
| 中华民族 | Zhōnghuá Mínzú | the Chinese nation; the Chinese people (collective reference to all the ethnic groups in C | HSK 3 |
| 居民 | jūmín | resident; inhabitant | HSK 4 |
| 移民 | yímín | to immigrate; to migrate | HSK 4 |
| 国民 | guómín | nationals; citizens | HSK 5 |
| 市民 | shìmín | city resident; townspeople | HSK 6 |
| 民主 | mínzhǔ | democracy; democratic | HSK 6 |
| 民意 | mínyì | public opinion; popular will | HSK 6 |
| 民歌 | míngē | folk song | HSK 6 |
民 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 民
Learning 民 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 民
How many strokes are in 民?
民 is written with 5 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 民 mean?
民 (mín) means citizens, subjects; a nation's people. A common word with it is 人民 (rénmín), meaning "the people".
How do you pronounce 民?
民 is pronounced mín, in the second tone (rising).
Is 民 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 民 is part of the HSK 3 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard, and you are expected to write it by hand from HSK 2.
Can I use 民 by itself to mean "people"?
Usually not. In modern Chinese 民 is a bound form, so you say 人民 (rénmín) or 人们 (rénmen) instead. It survives alone mainly in set phrases and formal or classical style.
What is the difference between 人民 and 公民?
人民 (rénmín) means the people as a collective group, as in 人民币 (rénmínbì). 公民 (gōngmín) means a citizen, an individual with legal status in a country.