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野蛮 (yě mán) — barbarous, uncivilized

Definition

Means 'barbaric, uncivilized' as a judgment on behavior or people (e.g. 野蛮行为). 野 alone describes wild nature or rough manners; 野生 refers only to undomesticated plants and animals.

adjective
barbarousuncivilized

Examples

  • 野蛮。
    Tā de yě mán xíng wéi ràng suǒ yǒu rén dōu hěn shēng qì.
    His barbarous behavior made everyone very angry.
  • 野蛮。
    Zhè ge dì fāng céng jīng shì yě mán de yuán shǐ sēn lín.
    This place was once an uncivilized primeval forest.
  • 野蛮。
    Wǒ men bù néng yòng yě mán de fāng shì duì dài dòng wù.
    We must not treat animals in a barbaric way.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
联合liánhéCoordinate

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

野yěwild
蛮mánbarbarous

野 means wild, and 蛮 means barbarous; together they describe rough, uncivilized behavior.

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.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
田田tiánfield
土土tǔearth
Sound part声符shēngfú
予
予yǔ野yě
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.

Open 野 →

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.

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 →
Appears in
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