茫 (máng) is a Chinese character meaning “boundless and indistinct”. It is written from 艹 (grass / plant radical) and 汒 (sound part of 茫 (máng); water stretching out of sight), one above the other, and takes 9 strokes.
Build the character for “boundless; vague”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
StartLearn this character
Structure
艹 + 汒
Top–bottom structure
- 艹 grass / plant radical · cǎo meaning
- 汒 sound part of 茫 (máng); water stretching out of sight · máng sound
Structure from: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 1–3 为 艹，笔画 4–9 与 汒（⿰氵亡）逐笔对应；汒 今读 máng，与本字同音
Memory aid
Grass 艹 spreads over 汒, which is here for its sound (máng). Grass all the way to the water, water all the way to the sky — nothing to fix your eyes on. That blank, endless view is 茫.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
9 strokes
In real words
- 茫然máng ránat a loss; blank; without a clue茫 = máng
- 苍茫cāng mángvast and hazy; boundless and dim茫 = máng
Go deeper
All readings
boundless; vague
boundless and indistinct; vast; vague; at a loss
辽阔无边、看不清楚；也指不明白、没有头绪。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 茫然máng ránat a loss; blank; without a clue茫 = máng
- 苍茫cāng mángvast and hazy; boundless and dim茫 = máng
Sound component
汒 family exact
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 茫 mean?
茫 (máng) means boundless and indistinct; vast; vague; at a loss.
How do you pronounce 茫?
It is pronounced máng.
What parts is 茫 made of?
艹 (grass / plant radical) and 汒 (sound part of 茫 (máng); water stretching out of sight), one above the other. The recorded source is: hanzi-writer-data 笔画核验：笔画 1–3 为 艹，笔画 4–9 与 汒（⿰氵亡）逐笔对应；汒 今读 máng，与本字同音. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 茫 have?
9. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 茫?
艹. The radical is how the character is filed in a dictionary — it is not the whole story of how the character is built.
What words use 茫?
Common ones are 茫然 and 苍茫. The reading of 茫 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.