Meaning of 民主
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- democracy
- democratic
How to use 民主
民主 works as a noun for democracy and as an adjective meaning democratic, often in formal or political contexts. It also describes everyday decision-making where everyone gets a say. Example: 我们家做决定很民主。(Wǒmen jiā zuò juédìng hěn mínzhǔ.) Our family makes decisions very democratically.
民主 is built from 民 (mín) "the people" and 主 (zhǔ) "master, to be in charge." When the people are the masters, you have democracy.
Common mistake: Learners sometimes reverse the order and write 主民, or confuse it with 人民 (rénmín), which means "the people," not democracy. Also keep 民 in the second tone (mín) and 主 in the third tone (zhǔ).
民主 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.
民 mín · citizens · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
主 zhǔ · owner · 5 strokes
- 1
- 2
- 3
- 4
- 5
Related words
Words that share a character with 民主.
| 主人 | zhǔrén | owner; host |
| 主要 | zhǔyào | main; principal; major; primary |
| 主意 | zhǔyi | plan; idea |
| 人民 | rénmín | the people |
| 公民 | gōngmín | citizen |
| 主任 | zhǔrèn | director; head |
| 主动 | zhǔdòng | to take the initiative; to do sth of one's own accord |
| 农民 | nóngmín | peasant; farmer |
| 主持 | zhǔchí | to take charge of; to manage or direct |
| 民族 | mínzú | nationality; ethnic group |
| 主张 | zhǔzhāng | to advocate; to stand for |
| 民间 | mínjiān | among the people; popular |
Questions about 民主
What does 民主 mean?
民主 (mínzhǔ) means "democracy; democratic" and is used as a noun and adjective.
How do you write 民主?
民主 is made of 2 characters: 民 (5 strokes), 主 (5 strokes). That is 10 strokes in total.
Is 民主 an HSK word?
Yes. 民主 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
How do I say "democratic country" or "democratic system" in Chinese?
Put 民主 before the noun, often with 的 for longer phrases: 民主国家 (mínzhǔ guójiā) democratic country, 民主制度 (mínzhǔ zhìdù) democratic system. In set terms like these, 的 is usually dropped.
Can 民主 be used outside of politics?
Yes. People use it for workplaces, schools, or families where opinions are shared openly, as in 老师很民主 (lǎoshī hěn mínzhǔ), the teacher is very democratic. A related word is 民主化 (mínzhǔhuà), democratization.