氓 (máng) is a Chinese character meaning “rogue”. It is written from 亡 (to perish; to lose) and 民 (the people; civilian), side by side, and takes 8 strokes.
Build the character for “rogue”
Four steps: break it apart, build it, recall it, use it in a word.
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Structure
亡 + 民
Left–right structure
Structure from: 说文解字: 氓，民也。从民亡聲
Memory aid
Someone who has lost (亡) their place among the people (民). Both parts are really in this character, and together they point at today's meaning: a rogue, a 流氓.
This is a memory aid, not the historical origin.
Stroke order
8 strokes
In real words
- 流氓liú mánghooligan; rogue; gangster氓 = máng
Go deeper
All readings
rogue
rogue; hooligan; ruffian — in modern Chinese it appears almost only inside the word 流氓.
指不务正业、为非作歹的人；现代汉语中几乎只出现在「流氓」一词里。 — studyhanzi 编写
Words with this reading
- 流氓liú mánghooligan; rogue; gangster氓 = máng
Rare readings, not taught: méng
Stroke data: hanzi-writer-data (Arphic Public License) · licenses & attributions
Questions people ask about this character
What does 氓 mean?
氓 (máng) means rogue; hooligan; ruffian — in modern Chinese it appears almost only inside the word 流氓..
How do you pronounce 氓?
It is pronounced máng.
What parts is 氓 made of?
亡 (to perish; to lose) and 民 (the people; civilian), side by side. The recorded source is: 说文解字: 氓，民也。从民亡聲. Components are the building blocks of the shape; the radical used for dictionary lookup is a separate thing.
How many strokes does 氓 have?
8. You can watch the stroke order on this page, or trace it yourself.
What is the radical of 氓?
氏. 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 氓?
Common ones are 流氓. The reading of 氓 is not the same in every word, so each word on this page shows which reading applies.