盲 máng blind
How to remember 盲: 亡 perish + 目 eye = blind. The old cat did not perish in the storm, but one eye is hurt, and the vet says she is now half blind.
Component breakdown
形声 · Meaning + sound
One part gives the meaning, the other gives the sound.
盲 = 亡 perish + 目 eye
- 亡 perish sound
- 目 eye meaning
The old cat did not perish in the storm, but one eye is hurt, and the vet says she is now half blind.
How it came to be
In the small seal form, the eye gives the meaning and the top part gives the sound.
How it is used
- Blind: 盲人 (mángrén) a blind person, 盲道 a tactile path for the blind.
- Figurative 'blind/uninformed': 盲目 (mángmù) blindly/aimlessly (盲目跟风 to follow trends blindly).
- '-illiterate/-blind' suffix: 文盲 (wénmáng) illiterate, 色盲 color-blind, 法盲 legally ignorant.
- 盲 = 亡 (loss) over 目 (eye): loss of sight.