忙
busy
máng
What does 忙 mean?
忙 (máng) means 'busy' — having a lot to do, occupied with tasks. As a Chinese adjective it doesn't need 'is': 我很忙 (wǒ hěn máng) = 'I'm busy.' To say someone is busy with something specific, use 忙 + verb/noun: 我在忙工作 ('I'm busy with work'). 'Busy doing X' uses 忙着 + verb: 他忙着做饭 ('he's busy cooking'). The opposite is 闲 (xián, 'free, idle') or the negation 不忙 ('not busy').
忙 can also work as a verb meaning 'be occupied with / to rush about': 你忙什么呢？('What are you so busy with?'). A common helpful phrase is 帮忙 (bāng máng, 'to help / lend a hand,' literally 'help-busy'). The character has the 忄 (heart) radical on the left and 亡 (gone) on the right — 'heart gone' = mind preoccupied = busy.
Character breakdown
busy (忄 'heart' radical + 亡 'gone' phonetic — 'heart gone, mind absorbed')
Memory hook: 忙 = 忄 (heart) + 亡 (gone). When you're busy, your heart/mind is 'gone' — preoccupied with tasks.
Example sentences
我今天很忙。
Wǒ jīntiān hěn máng.
I'm very busy today.
spoken
你最近忙不忙？
Nǐ zuìjìn máng bu máng?
Have you been busy lately?
spoken
妈妈在忙做饭。
Māma zài máng zuò fàn.
Mom is busy cooking.
spoken
你能帮我一个忙吗？
Nǐ néng bāng wǒ yí ge máng ma?
Can you do me a favor?
spoken
他工作太忙，没有时间休息。
Tā gōngzuò tài máng, méiyǒu shíjiān xiūxi.
His work is too busy; he has no time to rest.
neutral
Common phrases with 忙
Synonyms
繁忙 is a formal/written word for 'busy,' used in descriptions ('rush hour traffic is 繁忙'). In daily conversation, use 忙.
Don't confuse 忙 with
慢 (màn, fourth tone) means 'slow.' Both have the heart radical 忄, but 忙 is 'busy' (second tone) and 慢 is 'slow' (fourth tone). Easy to confuse because both relate to time/pace.
亡 (wáng) means 'die / perish' and appears as the right side of 忙. Don't read 忙 with the 亡 sound — the actual reading is máng.
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