Meaning of 猛
Definitions from CC-CEDICT.
- ferocious
- fierce
- violent
- brave
- suddenly
- abrupt
- (slang) awesome
How to use 猛
猛 describes fierce animals and strong forces like wind, fire, or rain. As an adverb before a verb, it means doing something suddenly or with great force. Example: 他猛地站了起来。(Tā měng de zhàn le qǐlái.) He suddenly stood up.
猛 has the animal side 犭 on the left, the same one you see in 狗 (gǒu, dog) and 猫 (māo, cat). Picture a wild animal charging at you, and you have the idea of ferocious, fierce, or sudden.
Common mistake: Learners often mix up 猛 (měng) with 孟 (mèng), the surname of Mencius. The two look alike, but 孟 has no animal side and uses the fourth tone, while 猛 uses the third tone.
猛 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.
猛 měng · ferocious · 11 strokes
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Related words
Words that share a character with 猛.
| 猛烈 | měngliè | fierce; violent; vigorous; intense |
| 凶猛 | xiōngměng | fierce; violent |
| 猛然 | měngrán | suddenly; abruptly |
| 勇猛 | yǒngměng | bold and powerful; brave and fierce |
| 猛虎 | měnghǔ | fierce tiger |
| 猛兽 | měngshòu | ferocious beast; fierce animal |
| 猛禽 | měngqín | bird of prey |
| 威猛 | wēiměng | bold and powerful |
| 猛击 | měngjī | to slap; to smack |
| 猛料 | měngliào | hot news item; awesome |
| 迅猛 | xùnměng | quick and violent |
| 猛攻 | měnggōng | to attack violently; to storm |
Questions about 猛
What does 猛 mean?
猛 (měng) means "ferocious; fierce" and is used as a adjective.
How do you write 猛?
猛 is made of 1 character: 猛 (11 strokes). That is 11 strokes in total.
Is 猛 an HSK word?
Yes. 猛 is on the HSK 6 vocabulary list of the HSK 3.0 standard.
What is the difference between 猛 and 凶?
猛 stresses force, strength, and intensity, so it can sound admiring, as in 勇猛 (yǒngměng, brave and fierce). 凶 (xiōng) stresses cruelty or a threatening attitude, so a person who is 凶 is mean or scary.
How is 猛 used as slang?
In casual speech, especially online, 猛 can mean awesome or impressive, as in 这个人太猛了 (zhège rén tài měng le), this person is amazing. It usually praises someone who does something bold or very skilled.