Chinese word

大众

Pronunciation

Pinyindà zhòng

Meaning

  • nounthe general public

Example

这件事在大众中引起了讨论。zhè jiàn shì zài dà zhòng zhōng yín qǐ le tǎo lùn

This matter sparked discussion among the general public.

Illustration for 大众 (the general public)

More examples

新政策受到了大众的欢迎。xīn zhèng cè shòu dào le dà zhòng de huān yíng

The new policy was welcomed by the general public.

Core concept

A broad social crowd seen together as ordinary people outside elite or specialist circles.

Common phrases

  • 大众媒体dà zhòng méi tǐ

    mass media

  • 大众市场dà zhòng shì chǎng

    mass market

  • 大众文化dà zhòng wén huà

    popular culture

Similar words

人们rén men: People in general, used as a basic and familiar way to refer to them.
公众gōng zhòng: The public viewed in connection with public affairs, information, or shared interests.

Definition in Chinese

指社会上大多数的普通人，非精英或特定群体。zhǐ shè huì shàng dà duō shù de pǔ tōng rén fēi jīng yīng huò tè dìng qún tǐ

Word origin

大众 (dàzhòng, "the general public") combines 大 (dà, "large") and 众 (zhòng, "a multitude"), giving the image of a large body of people and the modern sense of ordinary society as a whole.

Usage tips

  • As a noun, this word normally has a collective reading, so it does not label one ordinary person.

Other meanings

  • the massesnoun

Opposites

Related words

  • 大众化dà zhòng huàmainstreamadjective
  • 大众性dà zhòng xìngmass appealnoun

Word lists with this word