乌合之众 (wū hé zhī zhòng) — a disorderly crowd; a mob; rabble

Definition

A set phrase for a 'disorderly crowd / mob' — people thrown together with no leadership or unity, implied to be weak or unreliable.

noun
a disorderly crowda mobrabble

Examples

  • 乌合之众
    Zhè xiē bào tú bú guò shì yì qún wū hé zhī zhòng, hěn kuài jiù bèi jǐng chá qū sàn le.
    These rioters are nothing but a mob and were quickly dispersed by the police.
  • 乌合之众
    Méi yǒu tǒng yī zhǐ huī de jūn duì jiù shì yì pán sǎn shā, rú tóng wū hé zhī zhòng.
    An army without unified command is just a heap of loose sand, like a disorderly crowd.
  • 乌合之众
    Bié bèi tā men de shēng shì xià dǎo, nà bú guò shì wū hé zhī zhòng bà liǎo.
    Don't be intimidated by their momentum; they're just a rabble.

Origin

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 烏; 乌 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 烏 is a drawing of a bird. The simplified 乌 is a later abbreviation.

Open 乌 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

合 shows 亼 and 口 arranged as two mouths speaking together.

Open 合 →

Two or more meaningful parts placed together so that their meanings combine into a new one.

The shape pairs 止, a foot, with 一, a beginning place, and means to go.

Open 之 →

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 眾; 众 is its simplified writing.

The traditional form 眾 shows three people under a sun-like shape, meaning a crowd gathered under the sun; the simplified 众 is a later shorthand.

Open 众 →

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