氓 meaning and stroke order
People, subjects, vassals
How to write 氓, stroke by stroke
8 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
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- 4
- 5
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- 8
Meaning of 氓
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (literary) common people
- used in 流氓[liu2 mang2]
How 氓 is built
Phono-semantic (sound + meaning) character. Citizens.
民 gives the meaning and 亡 hints at the sound.
Radical: 民 (citizens), shared by 2 characters on this site.
How to remember 氓
氓 combines 亡 (wáng), which gives the sound, with 民 (mín), meaning people or citizens. Picture 民 people who have 亡 lost their home and wander, which fits its use in 流氓 (liúmáng).
In modern Chinese 氓 almost only appears in 流氓 (liúmáng), meaning a rogue, hoodlum, or someone who behaves indecently. Example: 他像个流氓。(Tā xiàng gè liúmáng.) He acts like a hooligan.
Common mistake: Learners often write 盲 (máng, blind) or 忙 (máng, busy) instead of 氓 because they sound the same. Remember that 氓 has 民 on the right, not 目 below or 忄 on the left.
Common words with 氓
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 流氓 | liúmáng | rogue; hoodlum | HSK 7-9 |
氓 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Questions about 氓
How many strokes are in 氓?
氓 is written with 8 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 氓 mean?
氓 (máng) means people, subjects, vassals. A common word with it is 流氓 (liúmáng), meaning "rogue; hoodlum".
How do you pronounce 氓?
氓 is pronounced máng, in the second tone (rising).
What is the radical of 氓?
The radical of 氓 is 民, which carries the idea of "citizens". Dictionaries list 氓 under this radical.
Is 氓 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 氓 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
Is 氓 pronounced máng or méng?
In 流氓 it is máng, which is the reading you will hear in everyday speech. The reading méng is literary and means common people, found mainly in classical texts.
Is 流氓 a rude word?
Yes, it is an insult. It can mean a thug or troublemaker, and it is also used for a man who harasses women, as in 耍流氓 (shuǎ liúmáng), to act indecently.