How to Write 猛 (měng) — Meaning “Fierce / Sudden”

Picture a fierce dog (犭) that suddenly leaps at the first-born child (孟) of a family — this image of sudden aggression captures both meanings "fierce" and "sudden". Alternatively, think of a "Meng" (孟) tiger that attacks without warning, so 猛 = animal + sudden attack.

Write the left radical 犭 first: a left-falling stroke (撇), then a curved hook (弯钩), and a final left-falling stroke (撇). The right part 孟 is slightly taller: start with the crossbar at the top, then the second 子 (child) component — be careful not to make the two inner strokes too long. A common mistake is making the left side too wide; keep the left radical narrow and the right side balanced.

猛 (měng) means fierce or sudden, while 狠 (hěn) means cruel or ruthless — 狠 has the same left radical but a different right side (艮, gèn). 狊 (jú) is a rare archaic character meaning "the view of dogs" and is almost never used in modern Chinese; its right side is 目 (eye) instead of 孟. Visually, 猛's right side contains 孟 (with 子 at bottom), whereas 狠 uses 艮, and 狊 uses 目.

猛 appears in words like 猛烈 (violent storm or attack) and 凶猛 (ferocious animals or people), describing intensity or aggression. It is also used in the sudden sense, as in 猛然 (suddenly), to describe an abrupt change or action. Culturally, while 猛 carries a stronger negative connotation than English "sudden", it can be neutral in phrases like 猛增 (sudden increase) in business or news contexts.

Common words containing 猛 include: 猛烈 (měng liè) — Violent / Intense; 凶猛 (xiōng měng) — Ferocious; violent; 猛然 (měng rán) — Suddenly / Abruptly.