蛮荒 (mán huāng) — (noun) uncivilized wilderness, barbaric region;…

Definition

Literary term for a 'savage, uncivilized' frontier — usually a noun for the wilderness itself, or an adjective describing primitive times and places. Written/formal in tone, far more elevated than plain 荒凉.

noun

uncivilized wildernessbarbaric region

adjective

savage and wildprimitive

Examples

蛮荒。
Zhè piàn mán huāng zhī dì rén jì hǎn zhì.
This piece of barbaric wilderness is rarely visited by humans.
蛮荒。
Tā de xiǎo shuō miáo xiě le gǔ dài mán huāng de shēng huó.
His novel describes life in ancient barbaric times.
蛮荒，。
Tā men shēn rù mán huāng, xún zhǎo shī luò de wén míng.
They ventured deep into the wilderness to find a lost civilization.

Origin

Compound word

构词法gòucífǎ

联合liánhéCoordinate

Two parts of equal weight, alike or opposite in meaning, standing side by side.

蛮mánsavage

荒huāngwild

蛮 (savage) and 荒 (wild) reinforce each other to describe uncivilized wilderness.

Characters in this word

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 蠻; 蛮 is its simplified writing.

䜌虫蠻

Meaning part形符xíngfú

虫虫chóngsnake

Sound part声符shēngfú

䜌

䜌䜌蠻mán

The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

The traditional form 蠻 shows 虫 (a snake) for the meaning and 䜌 for the sound; the simplified 蛮 is a later shorthand, so its parts are not the historical components.

Open 蛮 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

艹巟荒

Meaning part形符xíngfú

艹Written in full as艸cǎograss, plant

Sound part声符shēngfú

巟

巟huāng荒huāng

Same sound today

荒 is built from 艹 (grass, plant) and 巟, with 巟 giving the sound huāng.

Open 荒 →

Appears in