罔

罔 U+7F54, 罔 CJK UNIFIED IDEOGRAPH-7F54 ← 罓 [U+7F53] CJK Unified Ideographs 罕 → [U+7F55]

Translingual

Han character

罔 (Kangxi radical 122, 网+3, 8 strokes, cangjie input 月廿卜女 (BTYV), four-corner 7722₀, composition ⿵𦉰亡 or ⿵冂𠅇)

Derived characters

• 𠵜, 𫰻, 惘, 𭡐, 𣶈, 𪱣, 棢, 焹, 𪻫, 䃃, 網, 𦖉, 蝄, 𠬏, 誷(𫍬), 輞(辋), 龬, 魍, 䱩, 菵

References

• Kangxi Dictionary: page 946, character 30
• Dai Kanwa Jiten: character 28211
• Dae Jaweon: page 1387, character 21
• Hanyu Da Zidian (first edition): volume 4, page 2914, character 2
• Unihan data for U+7F54

Bailang

Etymology

Compare Burmese မင်း (mang:, “monarch; royal; high official”).

Noun

罔 (*muaŋʔ)

1. official

References

• Hill, Nathan W. (2017), “Songs of the Bailang: A New Transcription with Etymological Commentary”, in Bulletin de l'École française d'Extrême-Orient‎, volume 103, pages 386—429

Chinese

trad.		罔
simp. #		罔
alternative forms		冈 𠔿 𡦽 𡧏 㒺 冈 𠔿 𡦽 𡧏 㒺 𠕏 𦉸 𦉽

Glyph origin

Historical forms of the character 罔
Shang		Western Zhou	Spring and Autumn	Warring States			Shuowen Jiezi (compiled in Han)			Liushutong (compiled in Ming)
Bronze inscriptions	Oracle bone script	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Bronze inscriptions	Chu slip and silk script	Qin slip script	Shizhoupian script	Ancient script	Small seal script	Transcribed ancient scripts

Characters in the same phonetic series (亡) (Zhengzhang, 2003) 

	Old Chinese
忙	*maːŋ
芒	*maːŋ, *maŋ
茫	*maːŋ
恾	*maːŋ
吂	*maːŋ, *maːŋs
汒	*maːŋ, *maŋs
朚	*maːŋ, *hmaːŋ, *maŋ, *mraːŋ, *mraːŋs
邙	*maːŋ, *maŋ
杗	*maːŋ, *maŋ
荒	*hmaːŋ, *hmaːŋs
肓	*hmaːŋ
衁	*hmaːŋ
巟	*hmaːŋ
詤	*hmaːŋ, *hmaːŋʔ, *hmaŋʔ
慌	*hmaːŋ, *hmaːŋʔ
謊	*hmaːŋʔ
喪	*smaːŋs, *smaːŋ
亡	*maŋ
望	*maŋ, *maŋs
莣	*maŋ
朢	*maŋ, *maŋs
鋩	*maŋ
硭	*maŋ
忘	*maŋ, *maŋs
网	*mlaŋʔ
罔	*mlaŋʔ
蛧	*maŋʔ
網	*mlaŋʔ
輞	*maŋʔ
棢	*maŋʔ
惘	*maŋʔ
菵	*maŋʔ
誷	*maŋʔ
魍	*maŋʔ
妄	*maŋs
盲	*mraːŋ
蝱	*mraːŋ
虻	*mraːŋ
氓	*mraːŋ
甿	*mraːŋ

Phono-semantic compound (形聲 / 形声, OC *mlaŋʔ): semantic 网 (“net”) + phonetic 亡 (OC *maŋ).

Etymology

“not have; not”

From Proto-Sino-Tibetan *ma (“not”). Cognate with 亡 (OC *maŋ), with an Old Chinese auxiliary verb derivative suffix *-ʔ.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Pinyin): wǎng (wang³)

  (Zhuyin): ㄨㄤˇ

• Cantonese (Jyutping): mong⁵
• Eastern Min (BUC): muōng
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): bóng

  (Teochew, Peng'im): bhuang²

• Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ⁶maon

---

• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: wǎng
    • Zhuyin: ㄨㄤˇ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: wǎng
    • Wade–Giles: wang³
    • Yale: wǎng
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: woang
    • Palladius: ван (van)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /wɑŋ²¹⁴/
• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: mong⁵
    • Yale: móhng
    • Cantonese Pinyin: mong⁵
    • Guangdong Romanization: mong⁵
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɔːŋ¹³/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: muōng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /muoŋ³³/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bóng
    • Tâi-lô: bóng
    • Phofsit Daibuun: borng
    • IPA (Xiamen): /bɔŋ⁵³/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /bɔŋ⁵⁵⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /bɔŋ⁵³/
    • IPA (Taipei): /bɔŋ⁵³/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /bɔŋ⁴¹/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: bhuang²
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: buáng
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /buaŋ⁵²/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai, Suzhou)
    • Wugniu: ⁶maon
    • MiniDict: maon^去
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³maan
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /mɑ̃²³/
    • Sinological IPA (Suzhou): /mɑ̃²³¹/

---

• Middle Chinese: mjangX

Rime
Character	罔
Reading #	1/1
Initial (聲)	明 (4)
Final (韻)	陽 (106)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)
Openness (開合)	Closed
Division (等)	III
Fanqie	文兩切
Baxter	mjangX
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/mʉɐŋX/
Pan Wuyun	/mʷiɐŋX/
Shao Rongfen	/miuɑŋX/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/muaŋX/
Li Rong	/miuaŋX/
Wang Li	/mĭwaŋX/
Bernhard Karlgren	/miwaŋX/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	wǎng
Expected Cantonese Reflex	mong5

• Old Chinese

  (Baxter–Sagart): /*maŋʔ/

  (Zhengzhang): /*mlaŋʔ/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	罔
Reading #	1/1
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	wǎng
Middle Chinese	‹ mjangX ›
Old Chinese	/*maŋʔ/ (or *C.maŋʔ ?)
English	net
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. *[t] as coda may in fact be *-t or *-p; * Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	罔
Reading #	1/1
No.	12674
Phonetic component	亡
Rime group	陽
Rime subdivision	0
Corresponding MC rime	网
Old Chinese	/*mlaŋʔ/
Notes	亦同網

Definitions

罔

1. (obsolete on its own in Standard Chinese) alternative form of 網 / 网
2. (literary) to not have
3. (literary) not
4. (literary) to deceive; to hide (truth) from
5. (archaic) to falsely accuse; to wrong (someone); to slander

   Synonym: 冤枉

6. (literary, archaic) to be confused; to be perplexed (on thought)

   • 學而不思則罔，思而不學則殆。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, trad.]
     学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。 [Traditional Chinese poetry, simp.]

     From: The Analects of Confucius, c. 475 – 221 BCE

     Xué ér bù sī zé wǎng, sī ér bù xué zé dài. [Pinyin]

     If you learn without thinking, you will be confused; if you think without learning, you will be endangered.

7. (Eastern Min, with verbs and adjectives) the more... the more

   伊罔吹會利害，茲隻𡅏行墿其儂就將許件大衣罔包罔緊去。 [Eastern Min, trad.]
   伊罔吹会利害，兹只𡅏行𰉣其侬就将许件大衣罔包罔紧去。 [Eastern Min, simp.]

   ĭ muōng chuŏi-â̤-*lê-hâi, cī-ciéh lā̤ giàng-*duô-gì-nè̤ng cêu ciŏng hī-giông-*duâi-ĭ muōng-*bău muōng-*gīng-kó̤. / [i⁵⁵ muoŋ³³ t͡sʰui⁵⁵⁻⁵³ ɛ²⁴²⁽⁻²¹⁾ l̃i²⁴²⁻⁵³ ^(h-)ɑi²⁴² t͡si³³⁻⁵⁵ ^(t͡s-)ʒiɛʔ²⁴ l̃ɛ³³ kiaŋ⁵³⁻²¹ tuo²⁴²⁽⁻²¹⁾ ^(k-)i⁵³⁻³³ nˡøyŋ⁵³ t͡siɛu²⁴² t͡suoŋ⁵⁵ hi³³⁻⁵⁵ ^(k-)yoŋ²⁴²⁽⁻²¹⁾ tuai²⁴²⁻⁵⁵ i⁵⁵ muoŋ³³⁻²¹ pau⁵⁵ muoŋ³³⁻²¹ kiŋ³³⁻⁵⁵ ^(kʰ-)ŋɔ²¹³] [Bàng-uâ-cê / IPA]

   The harder he blew, the tighter that walking man wrapped his coat around himself.

8. (Eastern Min, with verbs) while (usually used as a pair: doing X while doing Y)
9. (Eastern Min) although

Compounds

• 勿罔
• 名垂罔極 / 名垂罔极
• 悵罔 / 怅罔 (chàngwǎng)
• 惝罔
• 昊天罔極 / 昊天罔极 (hàotiānwǎngjí)
• 欺上罔下
• 欺世罔俗
• 欺主罔上
• 欺公罔法
• 欺君罔上 (qījūnwǎngshàng)
• 欺天罔人
• 欺天罔地 (qī tiān wǎng dì)
• 欺罔
• 罔上虐下
• 罔兩 / 罔两 (wǎngliǎng)
• 罔極 / 罔极 (wǎngjí)
• 罔極之恩 / 罔极之恩
• 罔知所措
• 罔顧 / 罔顾 (wǎnggù)
• 置若罔聞 / 置若罔闻 (zhìruòwǎngwén)
• 藥石罔效 / 药石罔效 (yàoshíwǎngxiào)
• 誣罔 / 诬罔
• 誕罔不經 / 诞罔不经
• 迷罔 (míwǎng)
• 附下罔上
• 附上罔下