盟 (méng) - Meaning, Stroke Order & Audio

盟

méng[meng2]Tone 2

oath, pledge, union, to ally, league

HSK 6

Guru Deep Dive

English · oath, pledge, union, to ally, league

Cached lesson

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Topology:Top-bottom

Strokes:13

Writing Balance Rule: The top component 明 must be compressed slightly to leave ample room for the sprawling bottom component 皿, ensuring vertical symmetry.

1. Meaning

oath, pledge, alliance

to allyleagueprefecture subdivision in Inner Mongolia

noun / verbliterary / formal#politics#society#contracts

Sample Usage

同盟
tóngméng
alliance, league
盟约
méngyuē
pact, covenant

2. Sound

/[mɤŋ³⁵]/Tone: 35

盟

méngmeng2

´(35)

=méng

Initial Consonant

Type: Bilabial Nasal

Sounds like: m sound like in 'mother'

Unaspirated

Airflow Tactile Test: Nasal resonance through nostrils.

Tongue & Mouth Position: Lips pressed together gently, air resonates through the nasal cavity.

Final Rhyme

eng

Vowel Group: -e vowel group

Sounds like: -eng rhymes with 'ung' in sung

Mouth Shape Guide: Pronounce as standalone vowel 'uhng'.

Common Learner Trap: Keep vowel quality steady across all 4 tone contours.

Tone

T2 (35)

3 → 5 (35)

2nd Tone (Mid-Rising)

Tone Pitch & Cadence: Tone 2 rises like a questioning English sentence (e.g., 'What?')

👂

Listening trap: Do not confuse with the retroflex initial or low dipping 3rd tone; make sure it is a crisp rising 2nd tone starting from the middle register.

👋

Physical Tone Gesture: A rising hand sweep starting from chest level and arcing upward and outward to the right, matching the Tone 2 upward pitch contour.

3. Writing

Topology: Top-bottom · Strokes: 13 strokes

Writing Balance Rule: The top component 明 must be compressed slightly to leave ample room for the sprawling bottom component 皿, ensuring vertical symmetry.

4. Components

Radical 皿 · Dish Radical (vessel, dish, container)

Semantic Clue (形旁): 皿 (denotes a sacred vessel used during oath-taking ceremonies)

Phonetic Clue (声旁): 明 (original sound: ming)

Composed of 明 (bright, clear) on top and 皿 (dish) on the bottom. Historically, people swore oaths of alliance by smearing the blood of a sacrificed animal from a shared dish (皿) under bright daylight or torchlight (明).

明 bright or clear (phonetic/semantic hint)
皿 dish / vessel

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

3· Phonetic Root: 明 (míng)

5. History

Liushu category: Phono-semantic (形声)

Origin: Originally depicted a blood vessel or dish (皿) used during ancient alliance ceremonies, combined with elements indicating a solemn covenant made under the bright light of heaven.

Semantic Evolution: From ancient blood-pacts and sacrificial vessel rituals to modern political alliances, treaties, and organizational leagues.

Ancient Chinese states would seal alliances by cutting the ear of a sacrificial animal and smearing blood from a bronze vessel (皿).

6. Sinosphere

🇻🇳

Sino-Vietnamese

minh

Mandarin rising tone corresponds roughly to Vietnamese hỏi/ngã or acute accents depending on historical entering tones.

🇯🇵

Kanji (Japanese)

On: メイ

🇰🇷

Hanja (Korean)

맹

Sound Shift Bridge: Shared ancient Sinitic roots preserved in Sino-Xenic readings like Japanese 'mei' and Korean 'maeng'.

7. Memory

Vivid Mnemonic Story

To make a BRIGHT (明) and clear alliance, two leaders pledge their loyalty over a sacred DISH (皿), swearing an OATH (盟).

Phonetic Family (形声字家族)

明

míngbrightSun and moon together make light/bright.

盟

méngalliance/oathLight on top of a dish (皿) for swearing an oath.

Lookalikes & Traps (形近字)

明(míng)

明 has 月 (moon) at the bottom; 盟 has 皿 (dish) at the bottom.

8. Mastery

Active Recall Challenge

两国签定了和平[___]。

Clue: méng yuē

Common Learner Pitfall

Confusing the bottom component 皿 (dish) with 月 (moon) from the character 明, leading to incorrect handwriting.

Memory Prompts

Recognition: What does the character 盟 mean when seen in compound words like 同盟 (tóngméng)?

Production: How do you write the character for 'oath or alliance' (méng) using components 明 and 皿?

盟méngoath, pledge, union, to ally, league

Speed:

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