民族

Chinese

		the people; nationality; citizen	race; nationality; ethnicity race; nationality; ethnicity; clan
trad. (民族)		民	族
simp. #(民族)		民	族

Etymology

First attested in the 6^th century CE:

今諸華士女，民族弗革，而露首偏踞，濫用夷禮，云於翦落之徒，全是胡人，國有舊風，法不可變。 [Classical Chinese, trad.]

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今诸华士女，民族弗革，而露首偏踞，滥用夷礼，云于翦落之徒，全是胡人，国有旧风，法不可变。 [Classical Chinese, simp.]

From: The Book of Southern Qi, by Xiao Zixian, 6^th century CE

Jīn zhūhuá shìnǚ, mínzú fú gé, ér lù shǒu piān jù, lànyòng yí lǐ, yún yú jiǎnluò zhī tú, quán shì húrén, guó yǒu jiù fēng, fǎ bùkě biàn. [Pinyin]

Nowadays, the men and women of the various Hua have not had their ethnicities changed, yet they have bared their heads and recline when sitting, overusing the barbaric rites. It is said that among those who have shaved [their heads to become monks and nuns], all are foreigners. The nation has its old customs; its norms may not be changed.

Pronunciation

• Mandarin

  (Standard)

  (Pinyin): mínzú

  (Zhuyin): ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄗㄨˊ

  (Dungan, Cyrillic and Wiktionary): минзў (minzw, I-I)

• Cantonese (Jyutping): man⁴ zuk⁶

• Hakka (Sixian, PFS): mìn-chhu̍k
• Eastern Min (BUC): mìng-cŭk
• Southern Min

  (Hokkien, POJ): bîn-cho̍k

  (Teochew, Peng'im): ming⁵ zog⁸

• Wu (Northern, Wugniu): ⁶min-zoq₈ / ²min-zoq₈

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• Mandarin
  • (Standard Chinese)⁺
    • Hanyu Pinyin: mínzú
    • Zhuyin: ㄇㄧㄣˊ ㄗㄨˊ
    • Tongyong Pinyin: mínzú
    • Wade–Giles: min²-tsu²
    • Yale: mín-dzú
    • Gwoyeu Romatzyh: mintzwu
    • Palladius: миньцзу (minʹczu)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /min³⁵ t͡su³⁵/
  • (Dungan)
    • Cyrillic and Wiktionary: минзў (minzw, I-I)
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /miŋ²⁴ t͡su²⁴/

    (Note: Dungan pronunciation is currently experimental and may be inaccurate.)

• Cantonese
  • (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou–Hong Kong)
    • Jyutping: man⁴ zuk⁶
    • Yale: màhn juhk
    • Cantonese Pinyin: man⁴ dzuk⁹
    • Guangdong Romanization: men⁴ zug⁶
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /mɐn²¹ t͡sʊk̚²/
    • Homophones:

      edit edit 民俗 民族

• Hakka
  • (Sixian, incl. Miaoli and Neipu)
    • Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: mìn-chhu̍k
    • Hakka Romanization System: min^ˇ cug
    • Hagfa Pinyim: min² cug⁶
    • Sinological IPA: /min¹¹ t͡sʰuk̚⁵/
• Eastern Min
  • (Fuzhou)
    • Bàng-uâ-cê: mìng-cŭk
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /miŋ⁵³⁻³³ ^(t͡s-)ʒuʔ⁵/
• Southern Min
  • (Hokkien)
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī: bîn-cho̍k
    • Tâi-lô: bîn-tso̍k
    • Phofsit Daibuun: binzok
    • IPA (Xiamen): /bin²⁴⁻²² t͡sɔk̚⁴/
    • IPA (Quanzhou): /bin²⁴⁻²² t͡sɔk̚²⁴/
    • IPA (Zhangzhou): /bin¹³⁻²² t͡sɔk̚¹²¹/
    • IPA (Taipei): /bin²⁴⁻¹¹ t͡sɔk̚⁴/
    • IPA (Kaohsiung): /bin²³⁻³³ t͡sɔk̚⁴/
  • (Teochew)
    • Peng'im: ming⁵ zog⁸
    • Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: mîng tso̍k
    • Sinological IPA ^(key): /miŋ⁵⁵⁻¹¹ t͡sok̚⁴/
• Wu
  • (Northern: Shanghai)
    • Wugniu: ⁶min-zoq₈
    • MiniDict: min^去 zoh^入
    • Wiktionary Romanisation (Shanghai): ³min-zoq₅
    • Sinological IPA (Shanghai): /min²² zoʔ⁴⁴/
  • (Northern: Jiaxing)
    • Wugniu: ²min-zoq₈
    • MiniDict: min^平 zoh^入
    • Sinological IPA (Jiaxing): /min³¹ zoʔ⁵⁵/

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• Middle Chinese: mjin dzuwk

Rime
Character	民	族
Reading #	1/1	1/1
Initial (聲)	明 (4)	從 (15)
Final (韻)	眞 (43)	屋 (3)
Tone (調)	Level (Ø)	Checked (Ø)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open
Division (等)	III	I
Fanqie	彌鄰切	昨木切
Baxter	mjin	dzuwk
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/miɪn/	/d͡zuk̚/
Pan Wuyun	/min/	/d͡zuk̚/
Shao Rongfen	/mjen/	/d͡zuk̚/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/min/	/d͡zəwk̚/
Li Rong	/miĕn/	/d͡zuk̚/
Wang Li	/mĭĕn/	/d͡zuk̚/
Bernard Karlgren	/mi̯ĕn/	/d͡zʱuk̚/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	mín	zú
Expected Cantonese Reflex	man4	zuk6

Noun

民族

1. people; nation; nationality; ethnic group; minority; ethnos (Classifier: 個／个)

   民族宗教  ―  mínzú zōngjiào  ―  ethnoreligious

   民族政治  ―  mínzú zhèngzhì  ―  ethnopolitical

   民族大融合  ―  mínzú dà rónghé  ―  major ethnic assimilation

   民族區域自治區／民族区域自治区  ―  mínzú qūyù zìzhìqū  ―  ethnic autonomous regions

2. Short for 少數民族／少数民族 (shǎoshù mínzú, “ethnic minority”).

Synonyms

• (people): 族群 (zúqún)

Derived terms

• 中華民族／中华民族 (Zhōnghuá mínzú)
• 原住民族 (yuánzhùmínzú)
• 多民族 (duōmínzú)
• 少數民族／少数民族 (shǎoshù mínzú)
• 民族主義／民族主义 (mínzú zhǔyì)
• 民族共同語／民族共同语 (mínzú gòngtóngyǔ)
• 民族區域自治／民族区域自治 (mínzú qūyù zìzhì)
• 民族唱法 (mínzú chàngfǎ)
• 民族國家／民族国家 (mínzú guójiā)
• 民族大義／民族大义 (mínzú dàyì)
• 民族學／民族学 (mínzúxué)
• 民族安全 (mínzú ānquán)
• 民族形式 (mínzú xíngshì)
• 民族社會主義／民族社会主义 (mínzú shèhuì zhǔyì)
• 民族聲樂／民族声乐 (mínzú shēngyuè)
• 民族自決權／民族自决权 (mínzú zìjuéquán)
• 民族英雄 (mínzú yīngxióng)
• 民族蘇木／民族苏木
• 民族資本／民族资本 (mínzú zīběn)
• 民族資產階級／民族资产阶级 (mínzú zīchǎn jiējí)
• 民族運動／民族运动 (mínzú yùndòng)
• 民族鄉／民族乡 (mínzú xiāng)
• 民族鎮／民族镇
• 游牧民族 (yóumù mínzú)
• 漢民族／汉民族
• 白衣民族 (Báiyī Mínzú)
• 直過民族／直过民族 (zhíguò mínzú)

 

Related terms

• 種族／种族 (zhǒngzú)

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (民族):

• → Japanese: 民族(みんぞく) (minzoku)
• → Korean: 민족(民族) (minjok)
• → Vietnamese: dân tộc (民族)

Others:

• → Bouyei: minfzuf
• → Zhuang: minzcuz

Proper noun

民族

1. (～街道) Minzu (a subdistrict of Jianghan district, Wuhan, Hubei, China)

Further reading

• “Entry #1773”, in 教育部臺灣台語常用詞辭典 [Dictionary of Frequently-Used Taiwan Minnan] (overall work in Mandarin and Hokkien), Ministry of Education, R.O.C., 2024.

Japanese

Kanji in this term
民	族
みん Grade: 4	ぞく Grade: 3
on'yomi

Pronunciation

• (Tokyo) みんぞく [míꜜǹzòkù] (Atamadaka – [1])
• IPA^(key): [mʲĩnd͡zo̞kɯ̟]

Noun

民(みん)族(ぞく) • (minzoku) 

1. people, race, ethnic group - people that have a common culture, common customs, etc.

References

• 2002, Ineko Kondō; Fumi Takano; Mary E Althaus; et. al., Shogakukan Progressive Japanese-English Dictionary, Third Edition, Tokyo: Shōgakukan, →ISBN.

Korean

Hanja in this term
民	族

Noun

民族 • (minjok) (hangeul 민족)

1. hanja form^? of 민족 (“an ethnicity”)

Vietnamese

chữ Hán Nôm in this term
民	族

Noun

民族

1. chữ Hán form of dân tộc (“ethnic group, nationality, race”).