Meaning of 大众
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- the masses
- the great bulk of the population
- popular (of music, science etc)
- Volkswagen (automobile manufacturer)
How to use 大众
大众 is used for the general public and also as an adjective-like modifier meaning popular or for ordinary people, as in 大众文化 (dàzhòng wénhuà, popular culture) or 大众传媒 (dàzhòng chuánméi, mass media). Example: 这本书很受大众欢迎。(Zhè běn shū hěn shòu dàzhòng huānyíng.) This book is very popular with the public.
大 (dà) means big, and 众 (zhòng) is three 人 (rén, person) stacked together, a crowd. A big crowd of people is the general public, the masses.
Common mistake: Learners often write 众 with only two 人, which turns it into 从 (cóng, from). Also, do not use 大众 to mean everyone present in a room. For that, use 大家 (dàjiā).
大众 in example sentences
Real sentences from the Tatoeba project, with pinyin and English.
Stroke order for each character
Open a character for its meaning, components and more words.
大 dà · big · 3 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
众 zhòng · multitude · 6 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
- 6
Related words
Words that share a character with 大众.
| 大学 | dàxué | university; college |
| 大学生 | dàxuéshēng | university student; college student |
| 不大 | bù dà | not very (clear, far away etc); not too; not often; infrequently |
| 大家 | dàjiā | everyone; influential family |
| 大人 | dàren | adult; grownup |
| 长大 | zhǎngdà | to grow up |
| 大部分 | dàbùfen | the greater part; the majority; most; Taiwan pr. [da4bu4fen4] |
| 大声 | dà shēng | loud voice; in a loud voice |
| 大量 | dàliàng | great amount; large quantity |
| 大多数 | dàduōshù | (great) majority |
| 大海 | dàhǎi | sea; ocean |
| 大门 | dàmén | entrance; door |
Questions about 大众
What does 大众 mean?
大众 (dàzhòng) means "the masses; the great bulk of the population" and is used as a noun.
How do you write 大众?
大众 is made of 2 characters: 大 (3 strokes), 众 (6 strokes). That is 9 strokes in total.
Is 大众 an HSK word?
Yes. 大众 is on the HSK 4 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How is 大众 written in traditional Chinese?
In traditional characters, 大众 is written 大眾.
Why is Volkswagen called 大众 in Chinese?
Volkswagen means people's car in German, so the Chinese name 大众 (Dàzhòng, the masses) matches that idea. People usually say 大众汽车 (Dàzhòng qìchē) or just 大众 when talking about the brand.
What is the difference between 大众 and 群众 (qúnzhòng)?
大众 is the general public in a neutral sense and often appears in phrases about culture, media and consumers. 群众 (qúnzhòng) also means the masses but often sounds more political or official, as in contrast with leaders or party officials.