() — wild (of plants, animals, nature); uncultivated; rude, rough, uncivilized (of behavior, manners)

Definition

野 covers two unrelated senses: 'wild, uncultivated' (plants, animals, land) vs 'rude, uncivilized' (behavior). For the rude sense, 粗鲁 is a more common dedicated word.

adjective
wild (of plants, animals, nature)uncultivatedruderoughuncivilized (of behavior, manners)

Examples

  • Zhè xiē shì yě shēng de yě cài, fēi cháng jiàn kāng.
    These are wild vegetables that grow naturally; they are very healthy.
  • Tā shuō huà hěn yě, dà jiā dōu bù xǐ huan tā.
    He speaks rudely, and everyone dislikes him.
  • Zhè piàn yě dì kě yǐ yòng lái zhòng cài.
    This piece of wild land can be used for growing vegetables.

Origin

Sound + meaning
六书liùshū
形声xíngshēng

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

Meaning part形符xíngfú
tiánfield
earth
Sound part声符shēngfú
The sound has drifted apartThe sound part was a clue two thousand years ago — it often still helps, but not always.

野 combines 田 (field) above 土 (earth) to show open country, with 予 giving the sound.

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