people, nation, subjects
民 centers on a collective body of people under a shared identity or rule: the populace, a nation, or subjects of a sovereign.
people (of a country); nation; citizen; national
citizen (of a country); citizenry
people; citizens; subjects; folk
inhabitant; resident; citizen; population
private; non-governmental; non-official; civilian; civil
democracy; popular sovereignty
people; race; nation; ethnic group; ethnos
Democratic Party
Liberal Democratic Party; LDP
resident of a prefecture; citizen of a prefecture
immigration; emigration
people; populace; masses
refugee; displaced person
common people; ordinary people; masses
the people; citizens; the populace
Liberal Democratic Party; LDP
civil affairs; civil case
private management
farmer; peasant
private house
commercial broadcast
civil law; civil code
resident of Tokyo; citizen of Tokyo; Tokyoite
native people; aboriginal; indigenous people
民 originally depicted a person with a marked or blinded eye, possibly representing subjugated people or subjects. The modern form retains the eye-like shape at the bottom.
The top stroke looks like a flat roof, and the bottom part resembles a person kneeling with an eye. Picture a nation of people living under one roof, all subjects of the same ruler.
For ミン, imagine a nation of people all named Min: every subject you meet is called Min, so 民 is the Min people.