眾
masses, people, multitude, crowd
Strokes11
Readings
On'yomi
- シュウ
- シュ
Kun'yomi
- おお.い
Meaning
眾 centers on a large gathering of people: the masses, a multitude, or a crowd. It emphasizes the collective presence of many individuals together.
Study
Etymology
眾 is the older form of 衆. It combines ⺫ (a net or eye) with three 人 (people) below, suggesting many people gathered under one net or eye, representing a multitude.
Meaning mnemonic
The top ⺫ looks like a net or a wide eye, and the bottom has three 人 (people) shapes. Imagine a net cast over a crowd of people, or a single eye watching over a multitude gathered together.
Reading mnemonic
For シュウ, picture a huge crowd of people all wearing shoes: shoes -> シュウ, and the multitude shuffles together.