ming

«ming» in Mova's school dictionary: «bright» or «clear» in Mandarin Chinese and is part of… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (Mandarin, pinyin; the Ming dynasty); name — not an English word

meaning for a pupil

1) (Mandarin, pinyin) «Míng» means «bright» or «clear» in Mandarin Chinese and is part of words like «míngtiān» (tomorrow) and «míngzi» (name). tree →

2) (history) The Ming dynasty was a family of emperors who ruled China for nearly three hundred years; it is famous for blue-and-white porcelain and for building much of the Great Wall we see today. tree →

3) (a name) Ming is a Chinese personal name or part of one. tree →

4) (UK slang) «Minging» means disgusting; «ming» is rarely heard on its own. To an English ear it sounds just like it is spelt, «ming». tree →

sense in the lessons

In Mandarin lessons pupils meet «míngzi» (name: «nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?» = what is your name?) and «míngtiān» (tomorrow). In history lessons «Ming» comes in «Ming dynasty», «Ming vase» and the Great Wall. In stories, «Ming the Merciless» is a villain in an old science-fiction comic.

examples

• In Mandarin, «míngtiān» means «tomorrow». tree →
• «Nǐ jiào shénme míngzi?» means «What is your name?» tree →
• The museum had a blue-and-white Ming vase. tree →
• Much of the Great Wall that tourists visit was built under the Ming emperors. tree →
• My friend Ming sits next to me in maths. tree →
• The Ming dynasty came after the Mongol rulers of China. tree →
• Pinyin «ming» sounds the same as it looks in English. tree →

note

Not an English word on its own. In pinyin, the mark on the vowel shows the tone; «míng» has a rising tone, and a different tone can mean a different word. As a dynasty or a person's name it needs a capital: «the Ming dynasty», «Ming». «Ming vase» is often used in stories to mean something very precious and easy to break.

In the corpora

• A clam from Iceland named Ming lived about five hundred and seven years, worked out by counting the growth rings on its shell.
• The door opens and there are Ming's mum and dad.
• Ming's granny drops a bowl — āiyā!
• Picture Ming's big sister holding up a card: «Today is xīngqīsì.
• In 1337 China was ruled by the Mongol Yuan dynasty, which the Chinese Ming dynasty overthrew in 1368.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «ming» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.