莽 meaning and stroke order
Thicket, underbrush; rude, impertinent
How to write 莽, stroke by stroke
10 strokes in order. Each box adds the next stroke in red. Write top to bottom and left to right, and finish enclosing strokes last.
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Meaning of 莽
Definitions from CC-CEDICT, grouped by pronunciation.
- (bound form) dense growth of grass
- (literary) vast; boundless
- (bound form) boorish; reckless
How 莽 is built
Ideographic (compound meaning) character. A dog 犬 surrounded by weeds 艹, 廾.
Radical: 艹 (grass), shared by 421 characters on this site.
How to remember 莽
Picture a dog 犬 lost in tall weeds, with grass 艹 above and more weeds 廾 below. The dog charges blindly through the thick underbrush, which links the meanings of dense growth and reckless behavior.
Today 莽 (mǎng) mostly appears in words describing rash, impulsive behavior, such as 鲁莽 (lǔmǎng) and 莽撞 (mǎngzhuàng). Its sense of dense grass or vastness shows up mainly in literary language. Example: 他做事太鲁莽了。(Tā zuòshì tài lǔmǎng le.) He acts too recklessly.
Common mistake: Learners often confuse 莽 with 葬 (zàng, to bury), which also has 艹 on top and 廾 at the bottom but has 死 in the middle instead of 犬. Also remember the third tone: mǎng, not máng like 忙.
Common words with 莽
Ordered by HSK level, then by how often they appear in everyday Chinese.
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning | Level |
|---|---|---|---|
| 鲁莽 | lǔmǎng | hot-headed; impulsive; reckless | HSK 7-9 |
| 莽撞 | mǎngzhuàng | rash; reckless |
莽 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Characters that contain 莽
Learning 莽 makes these easier to recognize and write.
Questions about 莽
How many strokes are in 莽?
莽 is written with 10 strokes. The diagrams on this page number every stroke in the order it is written, with the new stroke shown in red.
What does 莽 mean?
莽 (mǎng) means thicket, underbrush; rude, impertinent. A common word with it is 鲁莽 (lǔmǎng), meaning "hot-headed; impulsive; reckless".
How do you pronounce 莽?
莽 is pronounced mǎng, in the third tone (dipping).
What is the radical of 莽?
The radical of 莽 is 艹, which carries the idea of "grass". Dictionaries list 莽 under this radical.
Is 莽 on the HSK exam?
Yes. 莽 is part of the HSK 7-9 character list in the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 鲁莽 and 莽撞?
Both mean rash or reckless. 鲁莽 (lǔmǎng) often describes a careless, thoughtless way of acting or speaking, while 莽撞 (mǎngzhuàng) stresses bumping ahead clumsily without caution. In many sentences they can replace each other.
Is 莽 used on its own in modern Chinese?
Rarely. It is a bound form in modern speech, so it usually appears inside words like 鲁莽 or 莽撞, or in literary phrases describing vast, grassy land.